The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has launched a new investment plan setting out three new priority areas for improving the competitiveness of Australia’s renewable energy industry.
The overall aim is to increase the supply of renewable energy in Australia.
Chief Executive of ARENA, Darren Miller said the Agency’s investment priorities were updated following consultation with industry and Government and now focused on areas that could best assist with the energy transition under way in Australia.
“Our new investment priorities are geared towards future-proofing our energy system and economy and helping to further unlock the vast renewable resources Australia has,” Mr Miller said.
“We need to overcome the challenge of integrating renewables into the grid as we switch to an electricity system that is more complex, more decentralised and more variable.”
He said Australia needed to launch a hydrogen industry to create opportunities across the domestic economy and to help position it as a major renewable energy superpower through exporting hydrogen.
“Finally, we need to support industry, which accounts for around 40 per cent of total final energy use in Australia, as it transitions to renewables and looks to reduce emissions,” Mr Miller said.
“Without our financial support the pathway to commercialisation would be blocked for many new technologies and businesses so ARENA has an important role to play,” he said.
