Australia Budget 2023 – Government offers $2bn for green hydrogen pursuit.
Households would be able to access cheap loans for solar panels and energy-efficient appliances under a $1.3 billion scheme designed to slash power bills.
The Albanese Government will also spend $2b on subsidising a small number of large-scale green hydrogen projects as it pushes to make Australia a world leader in the emerging industry.
The Budget invests a total of $4b to power the shift to a clean energy economy, taking the Government’s overall commitment to the transition to $40b.
Jim Chalmers, Treasurer said:
Australia’s biggest opportunity for growth and prosperity is the global shift to clean energy.
“By acting now, our resources, our researchers and our regions can help power the world.”
The Government will tip $1b into the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, helping households access cheap loans to purchase battery-ready solar panels and energy-efficient appliances.
The fund, which will be targeted at low-income earners, is expected to reduce power bills for roughly 110,000 households.
Dr Chalmers said:
(It is) a common-sense program that will help family budgets — and reduce emissions.
A further $300 million has been set aside for upgrades at 60,000 social housing properties under a partnership with the States and Territories, which own the dwellings.
Upgrading an average home from a 1-star to 3-star energy rating could also reduce household energy bills by about 30 per cent, according to Government estimates.
The Albanese Government agreed to develop a household electrification package to win the Greens’ support for its gas market intervention last December.
The Government will run an expression of interest process to select two or three “flagship” green hydrogen projects, which will receive credits to help make production commercially viable in their early years.
The investment aims to deliver up to a gigawatt of electrolyser capacity by 2030 and build up Australia’s workforce and expertise in the industry.
“Seizing these kinds of industrial and economic opportunities will be the biggest driver and determinant of our future prosperity,” Dr Chalmers said.
The Budget will set up a new Capacity Investment Scheme, which will underwrite clean energy storage projects to firm up the grid amid the closure of coal fired power stations.
The Government will also spend $5.6m to study what the global clean energy arms race means for Australia.
Industry leaders have been urging the Federal Government to boost clean energy spending to keep pace with the United States, which is on the brink of a green jobs boom after the passage of the historic Inflation Reduction Act.
The Budget includes $6.7m to develop a gas strategy to support the Government’s plan to reach 82 per cent renewables by 2030.
The strategy will consider the need to maintain Australia’s reputation as a “trusted” energy exporter to the region.
The Government’s commitment to the gas sector has been called into question following a series of market interventions, with the Japanese head of petroleum giant Inpex even suggesting Australia was “quietly quitting” the industry.
The Government will prepare a National Climate Risk Assessment to understand the threat the nation faces from global warming.
It will also develop a plan to adapt to those threats, under a two-year, $28m Budget measure.
READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central
Federal Budget 2023: Cheap loans for energy-efficient homes, Government offers $2bn for green hydrogen pursuit, May 9, 2023