Australia is a step closer to manufacturing more reliable renewables at home, with the Albanese Government’s $1 billion Solar Sunshot program now open.
Australia has always been a solar powerhouse – the ideas invented here have lit the way for the global energy transformation underway.
But while one in three Australian households have solar – the highest take-up in the world – only one per cent of those solar panels have been made in Australia.
That’s why we’re investing in Australia’s solar capability with targeted funding to support a Future Made In Australia, create quality jobs for Australian workers and a more resilient supply chain.
The International Energy Agency estimates 1300 manufacturing jobs for each gigawatt of solar PV production, meaning a supercharged domestic industry will create thousands of jobs in Australia.
Initiatives like Solar Sunshot will build capability in the energy supply chains of the future, and support more manufacturing opportunities across the country driven by our renewable transformation.
The first $550 million, administered by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), will support the commercialisation of Australian solar photovoltaic (PV) innovations and scale up Australian solar PV manufacturing. This includes:
- Round 1A: $500 million to support solar panel manufacturing, here in Australia, with a focus on modules, inputs to modules, and deployment systems.
- Round 1B: $50 million to fund solar PV manufacturing studies, including feasibility and engineering.
As the Treasury’s National Interest Framework sets out: the high concentration of supply chains for critical energy technologies poses risks to Australia’s energy security and economic resilience.
These technologies are critical to Australia’s energy security through the net zero transformation.
We know there is strong interest from business to work with the Government to make more critical energy hardware here including high tech Australian start-ups, local fabricators and material suppliers, and international investors.
Community benefit principles – including for supply chains, diverse workforces and secure jobs – are central to Government investment through Future Made In Australia.
The Solar Sunshot program reflects this intent and will encourage investment in the people, communities and regions that will drive solar PV supply chains and the broader net zero transformation.
For more information and to apply for funding, visit https://arena.gov.au/funding/solar-sunshot/
Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:
“I want a future made in Australia. And I want a future made in our regions. Places like the Hunter, Gladstone, Rockhampton and the Spencer Gulf.
“Because Australia can do what other countries cannot. We have that combination of resources, skills, workers, space and sunlight to co-locate those links in the value chain.
“Solar Sunshot is about building on those strong foundations, building resilience into Australia’s renewable energy supply chains, and building a Future Made in Australia.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen:
“When it comes to powering Australia’s future nothing will beat our sun and our solar knowhow. That’s why bringing solar manufacturing to our shores is so critical for unlocking our future as a renewable energy superpower and securing the job of the future.
“Diverse, secure and resilient supply chains – supported by more onshore manufacturing across more of the value chain – are too important to our security and success to leave to hope.
“Now is the time to take advantage of some of the best solar resources and renewable energy expertise in the world.
“Only the Albanese Government is backing businesses across the country to seize the opportunity of a Future Made in Australia, powered by reliable renewables.”