Last week’s budget included $1.365 billion for a Solar Flagships program, which will seek to develop up to four individual solar generation plants on the national grid.
“The Government plans to invest with industry in the biggest solar generation plant in the world, three times the size of the world’s current biggest, which is in California.”
In the next six months the Government plans to define the tender specifications for industry, with successful tenders to be nominated in 2010.
The budget lays out $4.5 billion for a Clean Energy Initiative, representing about $3.5 billion in additional spending for clean energy measures. As well as the $1.365 for the Solar Flagships program, the initiative comprises an additional $2 billion in investment in industrial-scale carbon capture and storage and $100 million in additional funding for the establishment of Renewables Australia, a body that will support leading-edge technology research, development and demonstration projects.
In accordance with the Rudd Government’s push to become a world leader in renewable energy generation, Australia will become a member of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Established in January, IRENA’s main purpose is to promote a rapid transition towards the widespread and sustainable use of renewable energy on a global scale. Australia joins 80 other African, European, Asian and Latin-American countries.
Click here for more information about IRENA.
