The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) received a funding package worth $1.62 billion from the government to enhance the utilization of low emission technologies to cut emissions across the chain.

According to its press statement, the new funding package also includes a guaranteed baseline funding worth $1.43 billion over the next decade, which will help secure the agency’s future beyond 2022.

ARENA said that the new funding would allow the agency to carry on its work with energy industry participants, research institutes, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and other agencies to support low emission technologies across the innovation chain.

The agency expanded its focus to integrate pure renewable energy generation technologies that support system operation with a higher share of variable renewable energy. The agency said that its investments would focus on combining renewables into the grid, helping the industry reduce emissions, and stimulating the uptake of hydrogen.

“Technology and innovation are critical to energy transition and Australia’s efforts to reduce emissions and create new economic opportunities,” said Darren Miller, Chief Executive Officer of ARENA.

According to ARENA, the agency helped 543 projects with total funding of $1.58 billion, leveraging additional investments worth $5 billion from public and private sectors since 2012.  It has helped improve the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies such as large scale solar, grid-scale batteries, pumped hydro, bioenergy, distributed energy technologies, and hydrogen.

Recently, Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited, a Shapoorji Pallonji Group company, secured an order worth $218.38 million in Australia. The company bagged orders from two large-scale solar projects in Australia from a global independent power producer, which will have an installed capacity of more than 300 MW.

Harsh Shukla is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.

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