The Australian Government is establishing a $1 billion Clean Energy Innovation Fund to support the commercialisation of emerging technologies, such as large-scale solar with storage, offshore energy, biofuels and smart grids.
The fund will be jointly managed by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), and will provide both debt and equity for clean energy projects. It will be established from within the CEFC’s $10 billion allocation, making available $100 million a year for ten years.
In November 2015, Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the country will look into developing offshore wind power. A month later, it was reported that the CEFC’s new investment mandate will include wind power, with special focus on offshore wind energy.
The new focus on wind energy marks a major shift in Australian government’s energy policy, since the previous government, led by Tony Abbott, had banned investment in new wind power projects.