Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has introduced a bill that he said will unlock private sector investment for the country's renewable energy sector. The Future Made in Australia Bill 2024 will make Australian economy more prosperous and resilient, he added.
The 3 pillars of this legislation, introduced in the Parliament last week, are the National Interest Framework to identify sectors that will be key to the country's net zero transformation which should include renewables, especially solar PV.
It will enable the Treasury to conduct independent analysis of the sectors aligned with the framework and break down barriers to private investment. These investments will be based on Community Benefit Principles to ensure well-paid jobs and skilled workforce.
The investment focus of the bill is "on refining and processing critical minerals, producing renewable hydrogen, exploring production of green metals and low carbon liquid fuels, and supporting targeted manufacturing of clean energy technologies including solar, and value adding in the battery supply chain," said Treasurer Dr. Jim Chalmers.
Funding for the framework will come from a Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund. It will be established to support emerging technologies in industries like green metals, clean energy manufacturing and low-carbon liquid fuels.
Chalmers added, "The most important role for public investment will be to unlock the vast amount of private sector investment we will need to deploy –An additional $225 billion by 2050 to transition the energy system and realise net zero opportunities in heavy industries, by one estimate."
Earlier this year, the Albanese government announced targeted measures to support domestic solar PV supply chain manufacturing under the Solar Sunshot program (see Australia Announces AUD 1 Billion For Solar Program).