ARENA Backs Australia’s First Business Renewables Centre

To help Australian businesses and local governments procure 1 GW of installed renewable energy by 2022 and 5 GW by 2030, Australia is working to set up what it calls the Business Renewables Centre. Modelled on US based Rocky Mountain Institute’s Business Renewables Centre, the Australian counterpart will work as a resource centre and an online marketplace platform to speed up the purchase of renewable energy by Australian businesses in the form of corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs).

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is supporting the setting up of this platform with AU$500,000 ($357,260) to Climate-KIC Australia, WWF-Australia and UTS Institute for Sustainable Future, on behalf of the Australian government. Local governments of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria are pooling in with AU$150,000 ($107,178) each. Total cost of the project is AU$1.74 million ($1.24 million).

With this centre in place, businesses in Australia will be able to access information, have a network of energy buyers and project developers to refer to, along with getting inexpensive training and advice on PPA requirements, said ARENA.

Formation of this centre follows the learnings from a report on Business of Renewables by ARENA in 2017 that showed growing interest in renewables among non-generating entities, while at the same time pointing at the slow progress Australian entities were making compared to their global peers in transitioning to renewable energy.

“There’s a lot of interest in renewable energy PPAs, but they’re new to Australia and the key decision-makers often lack the information they need. We will be applying a model that’s been successful in the US to give companies the tools and resources they need to make the shift to renewable energy,” said Director of the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures, Professor Stuart White.