Nicky Ison and Chris Dunstan write in The Conversation (30.8.16) about the federal government’s proposed funding cuts to the nation’s renewable energy financing agency. The authors highlight the alarm this has prompted among the nation’s solar and renewable energy research community.
‘This week’s first sitting of the 45th Parliament of Australia is considering a A$6.5 billion “omnibus savings bill”, including a proposed cut of A$1.3 billion to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). If adopted, it would effectively mean the end of ARENA and would devastate clean energy research in Australia.
‘From driving innovation and economic growth, to creating jobs, to addressing climate change and ensuring a reliable and affordable energy system for the future, ARENA plays a critical role. Most perversely, by reducing Australia’s role in the booming global clean energy industry, closing ARENA would likely reduce Australia’s capacity to balance its budget in years to come.’
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- Senate knocks out regulation allowing ARENA to fund carbon capture and blue hydrogen »