The New South Wales Government is setting up a $1.5 billion Clean Energy Superpower Fund to fast track clean energy across New South Wales.
The Clean Energy Superpower Fund is a commitment by the current government, leading up to the state election in March 2023, consisting of the Transmission Acceleration Fund and new funding to support the delivery of renewable energy storage and grid security projects, such as rooftop solar, community batteries, big grid batteries and pumped hydro.
The State Government will also invest a further $23 million to kickstart the expansion of the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap to cover rooftop solar, small-scale batteries and to unblock local grid constraints to allow more people to produce and share energy locally.
New South Wales Premier, Dominic Perrottet, said the State Government’s immediate plan was to cap coal prices and reward households with $250 for shopping around for a better energy deal to improve competition in the market.
“The New South Wales Government’s long term economic plan includes rolling out our Roadmap, which is expected to attract $32 billion in private investment and support more than 9000 jobs by 2030,” Mr Perrottet said.
New South Wales Treasurer and Minister for Energy, Matt Kean, said there are currently 813,000 rooftop solar systems installed in New South Wales, saving each household up to $600 a year off energy bills, with this figure projected to grow to 1.5 million by 2030.
“Rooftop solar is a no-brainer to save money on energy bills but we know that tens of thousands of families can’t get the full benefit of their system because of network constraints which limit the amount of energy they can export to the grid,” Mr Kean said.
“The Clean Energy Superpower Fund will bust through these constraints, helping to roll out the storage and network infrastructure that the grid needs to unlock the renewable energy of the future.”
Responding to the announcement, Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, Kane Thornton, said, “The work to date by the New South Wales Government has resulted in the state becoming a leading light in Australia’s clean energy transformation with the development of the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, Transmission Acceleration Facility and renewable energy zones. This, in turn, has made New South Wales an attractive location for private investors in renewable energy.
“We would expect that by targeting areas of reliability, affordability and medium-to long-term storage, the public-sector contributions by the New South Wales Energy Security Corporation will help lower power prices, create jobs, keep the lights on and reduce our emissions.”
Mr Thornton said the Clean Energy Council looks forward to working with the next New South Wales government following the state election, and ensuring the state’s clean energy transformation continues to accelerate.
“We are in a global clean energy arms race. The world has changed markedly in just six months, global competition for green finance, equipment and human capital is intensifying, and we will need to boldly assert ourselves to secure a share of this massive green growth opportunity,” Mr Thornton said.
All projects will continue to be independently assessed by AEMO Services or the Australian Energy Regulator to ensure they are in the long term financial interests of consumers.
The Clean Energy Superpower Fund builds on the landmark $7.8 billion Rewiring the Nation agreement the New South Wales Government struck with the Commonwealth in December 2022.
