CEFC takes charge on energy security, sustainability and affordability

UTS and Bloomberg New Energy Finance today hosted the conference ‘Australia’s Energy Future: Achieving the goals of energy security, sustainability and affordability’. The conference saw a range of speakers from the energy industry take to the stage, including the chair of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), Jillian Broadbent AO.

Broadbent said CEFC investment finance can contribute to Australia’s energy security, sustainability and affordability in a number of ways, with investment options including storage and grid-scale batteries, strengthened transmissions, behind-the-meter solutions, new business models and frequency control services. She noted that Australia’s energy mix can incorporate higher levels of clean energy, with better demand management systems and increased storage capacity — though this will need to be planned and coordinated, she added.

Broadbent noted that the CEFC has exceeded $3 billion in cumulative commitments, which has in turn catalysed additional private sector investment into clean energy projects valued at more than $7 billion. She referred to a $250 million financing program initiated to kick-start investment in large-scale solar in Australia, alongside a parallel grants program from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

The CEFC is now close to finalising the transactions under this program, and seeing falling technology costs as a result. “Now we’re looking to have the same impact with large-scale storage, also working alongside ARENA to support the accelerated deployment of batteries and pumped hydro,” Broadbent said.

The CEFC has also successfully launched the Clean Energy Innovation Fund, which has in less than a year made three investments in innovative Australian companies looking to create a clean energy system of the future. The fund held its first Clean Energy Innovators Demo Day earlier this week, which brought together 10 clean energy entrepreneurs with 50 investors for a promising day of discussions.

“We’re working with regulators and the broader energy sector to share our knowledge about the changing energy system,” said Broadbent. “We continue to see our role as a catalyst to new investment in delivering a clean energy system of the future — one that ensures that sustainability is not just an idea that is tacked onto existing objectives of security and affordability, but is integral to those objectives.”