Electrification now central to Australia’s decarbonisation effort

The Federal Government’s decision to refocus the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) on electrification technology will accelerate Australia’s decarbonisation effort and help address the cost of living crisis facing Australian families, according to Rewiring Australia. The explanatory memorandum for ARENA’s new regulations says electrification and energy efficiency “are both essential to delivering Australia’s new targets of a 43 per cent reduction on 2005 levels by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2050.” Under the Federal Government’s Powering Australia policy ARENA will be involved in encouraging innovation and deployment of new clean energy technologies. This will include innovations to support solar banks to reduce power bills for low-income households, along with the development of community batteries that maximise the supply of renewable energy from rooftop solar, support the grid, and provide shared energy storage for up to 100,000 households. ARENA has already invested in electric vehicle technology and this research will further support the development of a National Electric Vehicle (EV) Strategy, which will include boosting charging infrastructure, and encouraging uptake of EVs. Research by Rewiring Australia has shown that electrifying our homes and vehicles is the fastest and cheapest path to decarbonising our domestic economy. By 2030 it will save close to $5,000 per year per household on energy bills and reduce domestic emissions by 40 per cent. Rewiring Australia founder, Dr Saul Griffith welcomed ARENA’s new focus and commended the Government’s new direction. “Rewiring Australia strongly supports the new federal government’s addition of electrification to the technology priorities of ARENA, because it will accelerate emission reduction and reduce consumer energy costs,” Dr Griffith said. ‘We are committed to helping Labor meet its electrification targets, and initiatives such as shared energy storage for 100,000 households are critically important. “With our vast landmass and abundant sunshine, no nation is better placed than Australia to harvest renewable energy and use it to power our homes, schools, hospitals and industry. We have a massive cost advantage. “The reorientation of ARENA is an important development and it should be recognised. With the right level of financial and political commitment, utilising the expertise of agencies like ARENA, we can steal a march on the world and develop a strong competitive edge.”