clean energy australia fact sheet

8/6/2019 Clean Energy Australia Fact Sheet

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/clean-energy-australia-fact-sheet 1/28



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The Government’s plan to moveto a clean energy future will:



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Contents

Overview 2

Financing clean technologies 4

... will support the transformation of our energy sector 5

Creating and deploying clean energy 6

... from renewable resources 7

Helping communities and regions 8

... become more energy efficient 9

Boosting support for farmers and landholders 10

... to improve productivity, sustainability and resilience 11

Supporting skills in land management 12

... and unlocking the benefits of biodiversity 13

Helping business 14

... move to a clean energy future 15

Improving our energy efficiency 16

Helping small business 17

Helping households save energy 18

On the move to more efficient transport 19



For more information vist www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au

The Government has developed a comprehensive plan to move to a clean energy

future. The plan will cut pollution and drive investment in new clean energy sources,

such as solar, gas and wind. This transformation is vital if Australia is to meet the

environmental and economic challenges of competing in a low-pollution world.

The Government’s plan includes:

• introducing a carbon price

• promoting innovation and investment in renewable energy

• encouraging energy efficiency

• creating opportunities in the land sector to cut pollution.

The countries that develop the technologies and products that allow the world to

decouple production from pollution will prosper in the 21st century.

The carbon price is fundamental to transforming the Australian economy, in order

to allow us to grow industries and jobs with less pollution. The Government will

complement this market signal with targeted investments to bring forward new

technologies at as low a cost as possible.

For those investing in emerging technologies there are ‘knowledge spillovers’. This

means that investments in emerging technologies will be lower than desirable because

investors cannot capture the full benefit of their investment to the community. By

researching and trialling new ideas, the whole country learns more about our clean

energy future. The Government is establishing the Australian Renewable Energy

Agency (ARENA) to more ef fectively coordinate support for renewable energy research

and development.

Technologies that are more developed can still face a range of obstacles in attracting

financing. Large scale renewable energy projects often have large up-front costs.

Financial institutions may treat these new technologies with caution as they do not

have the information required to properly assess the risk of investing in them.

Overview

Pricing carbon will

shift demand towards

cleaner energy

New t chnologies to provid

clean and af f ordable alternative

ener y sources a the potential

to s gnifican ly reduce he costs

of tack ling climate chan e. A

ca bon price will encoura e new

in estment in renewable energy,

s ch as solar a d ind, an mor

e ficien use of electr city.

Treasury mo elling sh ws t at

ith a carbon price, e ergy from

t e renewables sector is pro jected

t account f r around 0 per cent

of our lectri ity generation

b 205 , a si nifican incre se

f r m its current ev l of around

1 per c nt.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/clean-energy-australia-fact-sheet 7/28Clean energy Australia: Investing in the clean energy sources of the future

The Government is establishing a commercially oriented Clean Energy Finance

Corporation (CEFC) to boost private sector investment in renewable energy and clean

energy projects.

These initiatives will work together with the Government’s Renewable Energy Target

(RET) and complement the carbon price.

The Government’s plan for a clean energy future represents a historic move to increase

Australia’s investment in clean technologies, in particular renewable and clean energy

technologies and generation.

Energy efficiency measures allow households, businesses and communities to lower

energy costs while at the same time contributing to cutting carbon pollution. The plan

includes a number of new measures that will create jobs and allow all Australians to

benefit from improved energy efficiency.

Current barriers to cut ting pollution in the land sector limit farmers and landholders’

ability to contribute to and benefit from tackling climate change. Around $1 billion

will be spent over the next four years to overcome barriers to participation, reward

emissions reductions and recognise important biodiversity co-benefits.

This document highlights the most significant measures that will complement the

carbon price and help transform the Australian economy.

Record support for

renewables

The transf ormation of our

ener y sector will drive arou d

$10 billion in investment

in he renew bles se tor

over the p riod to 205 . The

Governm nt’s plan to su port

t is inve tment includes:

com ercialisation and

deploymen of ean tec nolog es thro gh th

co mercially oriented

$1 billion Clean E ergy

Finance orporatio

• research, development

and commercialisation of

renewab e energy t an arly

sta e thr ugh the $3.2 illion Australian ene able E ergy

Age cy

research and develop ent

of cle n technologies

throug the $200 m llion

Clean Te hnology Innovatio

rogram

• increased use of renewable en rgy through the carb n

pric and the Renewable

Energ Target.


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Mechanisms overseas

ther natio s are embr cing

the opportunities to transi ion

to a clean energy f uture. Th

Conservative United K ingdo (UK )

Government has mmitted to

esta lishing Green I vestment

Ba k to ad ress barriers which re

co straini g the flow of nance to

cl an tec nologies.

T e bank will pen n April 2012, ak ing the UK the fir t cou try

i the orld to create a bank

exclusi ely dedicated t gre n

i vest ents. There will be an

i itial over ment co mitment

of £3 illion A$4.5 billion)

anticip ted to mobilise £15 billion

in priva e inves me t by 2014-15.

The Unit d States Depart ent of

En rgy Lo n Programs Of fice ha

co mitted nearly $US3 billion

(A$ 2.7 billio ) to su port

37 cl an energy projects.

Financing cleantechnologies

Clean Energy Finance Corporation

The Government will invest $10 billion in a new commercially oriented Clean Energy

Finance Corporation (CFEC).

The CEFC will leverage private sector financing for renewable energy and clean

technology projects, investments critical to the transformation of the Australianeconomy. It will identify projects and remove barriers that would otherwise prevent

the financing of large scale renewable energy projects.

The necessary transformation of our energy sector will require the investment of

$100 billion in renewable energy over the period to 2050. Additional investments

will be required in energy efficiency and in new manufacturing technologies. The

Government can play an important role in facilitating and coordinating investment in

technologies that financial institutions may not be familiar with.

Accordingly, the Government will invest $10 billion in the CEFC, with its mandate

including:• the commercialisation and deployment of renewable energy and enabling

technologies

• the commercialisation and deployment of energy efficiency and low emissions

technologies

• the transformation of existing manufacturing businesses to re-focus on making the

inputs for these sectors.

The CEFC will play a vital role in unlocking significant new private investment into

clean energy projects and the supply chain that feeds into these projects.

It will be independent from Government and be run by a Board of experts inbanking, investment management and clean energy and low emissions technologies.

Investment decisions will be based on rigorous case-by-case analysis of candidate

projects at arm’s length from Government. The fund once mature is expected to be self

sustaining.



Creating and deploying

clean energy

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency

The Australian Government is funding around $3.2 billion in renewable energy

investment to promote the research and development of renewable energy

technologies to fast-track our clean energy future. These programs will be managed

by a new, independent statutory body – the Australian Renewable Energy Agency

(ARENA).

ARENA presents a unique opportunity to adopt a holistic approach to supporting the

research, development, commercialisation and demonstration of renewable energy

technologies through grants and financing assistance.

ARENA will also receive future funding from:

• dividends paid by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC)

• future carbon price revenue should the Jobs and Competitiveness Program be

modified following Productivity Commission reviews.

It will complement the CEFC which targets the financial barriers to large scalecommercialisation and deployment of renewable energy technologies.

ARENA’s board will include members with experience in the technology streams that

are likely to be considered. The board will also include expertise in commercialisation

generally, and business experience specifically. Roughly equal representation between

technology skills and commercialisation and business experience will provide balanced

recommendations in terms of project viability and the technology ‘fit’.

Renewables investment

enters new ARENA

The Gov rnment will esta lish a

new, independent statutory body

that ill incorporate initiative

previously admi red separ tely,

incl ding by he Austr lian Ce tre

f or Renew ble Energy a d the

Australian Solar Institute.

A ENA ill f und the f ollo ing

p ogra s:

• Ren wabl Energy Venture

Capital F nd

• Em rging Renewables Pr gram.

RENA will versee existing

Government upport f or programs

s ch as:

• Solar Flagship Program

• Rene able Energy

Demon tration Progr m and

olar Pro ects

• A stralian B s Researc

Institute

• Geo hermal Drilling Pro ram

• Conne ting Renewables Initiative.



Energy efficient

communities

The Sol r Cities and Smart

Grid, S art City initiatives a e

show asing sustainable ener y

models to help umers an

retailers to onitor th ir energ

us and use energy mor wisel .

S f ar, A stralia’s seven S lar

Cities have assisted over

9,300 househ ds ith ho e

energy asses ments, nstall d over

4,600 ilow tts of ph tovoltaic

anels and ver 20,000 smart

eters.

The S art G id, Smart City

i itiative will demonst ate

Australia’s firs commercial- cale

s art g id. Sma t ids use a vance telecommunications and

in ormati n technology t allow

en rgy pro iders to manage an

maintain ou electricity networ

bett r. This $1 ion pro je t is

expe ted to lead to Australia- ide

advan es in energy manage ent

by enco raging a smarter nd

ore ef fic ent energy ne work .

Helping communities and

regions

Expanding Low Carbon Communities

The Low Carbon Communities program helps communities and councils improve

energy efficiency. Funding for the program will be increased from $80 million to

$330 million.

The program will be expanded to include two new initiatives aimed at improvingthe energy efficiency of low income households. The Low Income Energy Efficiency

program will provide grants to pilot approaches that assist low income households to

reduce their energy costs.

The second initiative will fund a new Household Energy and Financial Sustainability

Scheme to support low income households to improve their energy and financial

sustainability.

Grants will also be available for local councils and community organisations to retrofit

or upgrade community-use facilities. This will cut their energy costs and serve as

demonstration projects to promote energy efficiency in the community.



... become more energy

efficient

Delivering clean energy to remote communities

The Remote Indigenous Energy Program will help Indigenous communities access

clean, affordable and reliable 24-hour power supplies. It will help communities to

manage their energy efficiently and use it to contribute to improvements in health,

education and long-term economic viability.

Over four years, the $40 million program will build on the success of the former

Renewable Remote Power Generation Program. It will provide additional financial

support to install renewable energy generation systems like solar panels and wind

turbines in around 55 remote Indigenous communities. This new program will also

include training in power system maintenance and information to support households

and communities manage their energy.

This program ensures remote communities will also be part of the transformation to a

clean energy future.

The future of social

housing

Over 1 ,400 newly constr cted

home , built under the Economic

Stim lus Plan’s Social Housin

Initiative will corp rate a 6 star

Na ionwid Housing ergy

Rating Sc eme rating. T ese

h mes will include great r ener y

e ficiency measures such s:

• energy ef fi ient ghting

sol r or heat pum hot ater

sys ems

• he t retaining ventilation

• wa er ta k s.

his will assist tenants to s ve

oney on f uture en rgy bills and

c t pollution.



Boosting wider land

action

The Gov rnment will purc ase

carbon credits through the arbon

Farmi g Initiative non-K yoto

Carbon Fund. T 250 millio

pro ram ove six year will cre te

inc ntives o undertake and-ba ed

ac ion su h as the storing of soil

carbon, revegetation and orest

c nserv tion.

Credits f rom hese pr jects can

also be sold to compa ies antin

t of f s t their carbon pollution to

eet volunt ry commi ments to

carbon neut ality.

Australia will continu work ing to

develop new i terna ional rules

that rec gnise a der ran e of action to reduce pollution on the

la d. In f uture, this may llow

lan holders to sell credits f rom

a wider varie of pro ects to

com anies with obligations u der

the ca bon price.

Boosting support forfarmers and landholders

Farmers and landholders have an important a role to play in reducing carbon pollution

as governments, households and the wider business community.

Carbon Farming Initiative

The Carbon Farming Initiative will provide new economic rewards for farmers and

landholders that take steps to reduce carbon pollution. It will do this by creatingcredits for each tonne of carbon pollution which can be stored or reduced on the land.

These credits can then be sold to other businesses wanting to offset their own carbon

pollution.

The Carbon Farming Initiative will create a new income stream for farmers, new jobs

for rural and regional Australia and provide strong incentives to identify and implement

low-cost methods of pollution reduction.

Carbon farming projects can increase resilience to the impacts of climate change,

protect our natural environment, and increase farm profitability and food production.

Increasing carbon storage in agricultural soils improves soil health and productivity.Revegetation will help restore degraded landscapes, provide biodiversity habitats and

corridors, and help to address salinity, protect livestock and reduce erosion.



... to improve productivity, sustainability and

resilience

Carbon Farming Futures

The Carbon Farming Futures program will deliver $429 million over six years to help

farmers and other landholders benefit from financial opportunities under the Carbon

Farming Initiative:

• support will be provided for research to investigate new ways of storing carbonand reducing emissions in the land sec tor, including biochar and biofuels

• this ongoing program will support landholders to take action such as testing new

ways to increase soil carbon and reduce emissions

• new funding will be made available to test more effective methods for measuring

carbon stored in soils and to integrate carbon farming into everyday farm business

• extension officers and outreach activities will give landholders access to

information to help them benefit from carbon farming.

These measures will improve the sustainability and profitability of Australian farmers

and landholders.

Conservation Tillage

The Carb n Farming Fut res

progra will include spec c

support f or conservation till ge

equi ment. This will be deliv red

by a 15 per ce re ndable t x

of f et f or e gible equi ment.

Th s will i centivise far ers to

move to ero till and minimum

tillage f rming techniques which

can en ance s c rbon, ater retenti n and produ tivity.

arme s will be required to

artici ate in research and

ethodology develop ent to

ssist f f ort to settle meth ds

f or cre iting soil carb n un er

the Ca bon F rming nitiati e.



Indigenous Carbon

Farming Fund

The Indi enous Carbon Fa ming

Fund will help Indigenous

Austr lians to tak e full advan age

of the Carbon F ng Initiative.

Fun ing will e provi ed

f or speciali ts to work with

In igenous communities n

carbon f rming projects. The Fund

will sup ort the e elopment and up ak e of Carbo Farming

I itiative acti ities wh ch ar

lik ely t hav high Indigeno s

partici ation such as s vanna fire

anagement.

Further supp rt f or re earch,

t ols and low cost m thods f or

e timati g and ep rting o e issions abatement will e

av ilable. This Fund will ak e it

easier f or I digenous gr ups to

par icipate i the Carb n Farmi g

Initiative by a ng barrier

assoc ated with communal a d

native itle land tenure.

Supporting skills in land

management

Carbon Farming Skills

The Carbon Farming Initiative will increase demand for carbon services and provide

new career opportunities in rural and regional Australia.

A new nationally accredited qualification will be developed for carbon service

providers (such as carbon brokers and aggregators), who will connect farmers andlandholders to the carbon market. This initiative will support high standards in an

important and emerging industry.

The Carbon Farming Skills program will ensure that there are people in regional

Australia with the necessary skills to support implementation of the Carbon Farming

Initiative. It will further drive the development of the carbon jobs sector by setting up a

training and accreditation system, boosting rural and regional employment.

Information and training workshops will be provided for farm extension officers,

catchment management authorities, agronomists and other rural service providers.

This will ensure that landholders have access to credible, high quality advice aboutcarbon farming opportunities.



Helping business

The carbon price will provide strong incentives for businesses to improve their energy

efficiency. Improving energy efficiency will be one of the main ways many businesses

will be able to manage the impact of a carbon price.

The Government will help businesses in this process through a range of measures.

These include the Jobs and Competiveness Program, which will provide $9.2 billion

over the first three years of the carbon price mechanism, and the $1.2 billion CleanTechnology Program. In addition, the Government is providing support for industry

associations and non- government organisations to deliver tailored information to

small businesses and community organisations to manage carbon price impacts.

Jobs and Competitiveness Program

The Jobs and Competitiveness Program will support local jobs and production, and

encourage industry to invest in cleaner technologies. This program is targeted at

companies that produce a lot of carbon pollution but are constrained in their capacity

to pass through costs in global markets. It has been carefully designed to assist these

industries in a way that maintains strong incentives for them to improve their energyefficiency and reduce the pollution intensity of their products

Clean Energy Skills

lean Ener y Skills will rovide

the f oun ation f or a new pe

of wor place skill set that ill

beco e increasingly more valuable

as w transition a low carb n

eco omy. U to $32 illion wi l

go to help educational i stitutions

an industry to develop t e

materials and expertise needed to

p omote clean e y sk ills.T adesperson and professi nals

alik e will develop the k ills eede

t deli er energy effici ncy

services, cle n energy pro je ts,

and lo pollution pro ucts

t Australian households,

c mmunities nd bus nesses.

T is will help ork e s of

al types transition to a lo

ca bon e onomy by provi ing

them with the skills that will

bec me inc easingly i portant

as b sinesses da to a clean

energ f uture.



Jobs in a Clean Energy

Future

Movin to a clean energy uture

will provide new economic

opp rtunities f or Australian

work ers.

Opportuni ies will ope up in

existing businesses as they

move to operating in a cl an

energy uture. ny businesses

ill invest in ew technology

to gen rate less pollution and

ecome mo e ef ficient.

Jobs ill also be creat d in

ew clean i dustries such as

renewable energy ge erati n,

arbon f arming and sustainable

esign, to na e jus a f ew.

... move to a clean

energy future

The Government is delivering the Clean Technology Program to help directly improve

energy efficiency in manufacturing industries and support research and development

in low pollution technologies.

Clean Technology Investment Program

The Clean Technology Investment program will support manufacturers by providing$800 million in grants to upgrade to less polluting equipment and cleaner

technologies. It will boost their international competitiveness and help keep

manufacturing strong.

Funding will be provided on a co-contribution basis, with industry providing three

dollars for every dollar provided by the Government.

Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment

Program

Food processors, metal forgers and foundries face par ticular challenges in reducingtheir carbon pollution and embracing the clean energy economy. That is why the

Government will provide $200 million in grants to help companies in these industries

upgrade to less polluting equipment and cleaner technologies.

These industries are important to specific rural and regional areas and the Government

wants to see these industries prosper in a low carbon world. Funding will be

provided on a co-contribution basis, with industry providing three dollars for every

dollar provided by the Government. This means that the program will drive around

$700 million in investment to help Australian food processors and foundries embrace

the clean energy economy.

Clean Technology Innovation Program

The Government will provide grants of up to $200 million through the Clean

Technology Innovation Program over five years to support business investment in

renewable energy, low emissions technology and energy efficiency. This could support

manufacturers to develop new clean technology products.

This funding will be in addition to the broader research and development tax credit.



Improving our energy

efficiency

The Government has a range of existing energy efficiency measure for households,

businesses and communities. These include:

• the $1 billion Tax Breaks for Green Buildings program

• $100 million in seed funding for Low Carbon Australia to finance innovative

approaches to financing energy efficiency improvements for businesses

• mandatory minimum energy performance standards for a range of household

and commercial appliances and equipment, including fridges, washing machines,

televisions, lighting and electric motors

• the National Building Framework which works with the building and construction

industry to set out a pathway to improve the efficiency of Australia’s building stock

over time.

The Government will build on this body of energy efficiency measures with its

response to the Prime Minister’s Task Group on Energy Efficiency. Two of the key

responses are:

Further work on a national Energy Savings Initiative

A national energy saving initiative would place obligations on energy retailers to help

households, businesses and industry install energy efficient goods and technologies.

This initiative could save consumers and households money by encouraging the take-

up of more energy efficient appliances in the home or in businesses. The Government

will undertake further work on the costs and benefits of a national scheme to replace

existing State schemes.

Energy Efficiency Opportunities Program

The Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) program has been running since 2006. In2010 alone, participating businesses identified energy savings valued at $1.2 billion

per year.

On 1 July 2011, EEO was extended to electricity generators. The Government will

expand the EEO program further to include medium energy users on a voluntary basis,

and energy networks so that these businesses can identify and benefit from energy

saving opportunities.

Report of the Prime

Minister’s Task Group on

Energy Efficiency

In 201 , a Task Group on Energy

Ef ficiency was established to

repo t on the s conomica ly

and environ entally e f ective

mechanis s to deliver a step

ch nge in Australia’s ene gy

ef cienc perf ormance an place

Australi at the oref ront o OECD i prov ment n ener y ef fi iency

perf or ance by 2020.

I response to the Tas Group’s

eport (published in October

2010), the G vernment will

undert k e f u ther wor on a

national ener y savings initiative,

e pand the Ene f ficien y O portu ities program an

im rove governance arra geme ts

around en rgy efficiency.



0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

CookingLightingWasteAppliancesTransportWater

heatingSpaceheating

Spacecooling

Standbypower

P e r c e

n t a g e o f a v e r a g e h o u s e h o l d e m i s s i o n s

private vehicles

domestic flights

public transport

Helping households save

energy

The Government is helping households to use energy more efficiently through a range

of existing and new measures.

Better information to support households move to a clean

energy future

Energy efficiency improvements around the home require the right know-how. TheGovernment’s LivingGreener website (www.livinggreener.gov.au) provides information

on living sustainably and will connect all Commonwealth, state and terri tory energy

efficiency and climate change programs.

The website will be expanded to include more information on how households can

improve energy efficiency to save dollars and cut carbon pollution. It will also feature

new content for schools and local governments. Tailored advice to householders will

be delivered through a household telephone advice line, supplemented by social

media channels.

Support to become

energy efficient

The aver ge Australian ho sehold

produc s around 14 tonnes of

carbo pollution each year.

Figu e 1 sho s the a jor sour es

of househo d emissions..

By improving energy ef ficiency

f a ilies an reduce their ills. This

h s bee made ea er thro gh a range Government initiati es

i cluding:

• the Rene able Ene gy B nus

Sch me to help replace electric

hot wate systems ith clean

ene gy sy tems

• phasing out ineffi ient li hting

• impr ving the efficiency of ap liances through he

Equip ent Energy Ef ficiency

rogram

• inimum e er ef ficiency

st ndards for new houses and

apartments under the Bu lding

Code..

Fi ure 1 So rces of h usehold emis ions in Austra ia



Clean energy Australia: Investing in the clean energy sources of the future

On the move to more

efficient transport

Supporting new fuel efficient vehicles

A new wave of vehicles are becoming available that are cleaner and cheaper to run.

Under new standards being introduced from 2015, all car companies will be required

to reduce emission levels from vehicles they sell by introducing better technologies and

adjusting the range of models they sell in Australia.

The Government is working with the automotive industry to set the emission levels

that will apply under the new standards. In addition to helping make a reduction to

Australia’s carbon pollution from transport, this initiative will deliver real cost savings

for motorists through improved fuel efficiency in new vehicles.

The Green Vehicle Guide and the Fuel Consumption Label are two other initiatives

supporting Australians to make better informed decisions and help consumers choose

vehicles that use less fuel and have lower emissions.

Cutting transport

emissions

The G vernment is work ing

to cu pollution by improving

our ransport systems. Since

lat 2007, th Gover ment has

committed over $7.3 b llion to

modernis and extend urban

passeng r rail inf rastruct re to

rovide genuine alternatives to

rivate car trav .

Aroun $60 illion f or nati nal

smart managed motorways trial

will h lp im rove con estio ,

lower pollu ion, and e pand

the capacit of existin road

inf ras ructu e network s.

Mana ed motorways use n w

techn logies to creat a more

consistent lev l of otorw y

erf or ance, resulting in l wer

reenhouse gas emissions.

T e Government is also

supportin the aviation

industry to r duce its emission

through improv ng air space

man gement in Australia.



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clean energy australia fact sheet

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