Australian Government expands ARENA 2022-23 federal budget

This will include A$146.1m for the decarbonisation of the road transport sector.

The Australian Government has expanded the funding for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for the 2022-23 Federal Budget which will include A$146.1m to support the decarbonisation of road transport.

In a statement, ARENA said the $146.1m budget will be delivered for over five years from 2023 to 2024 under the Driving the Nation Fund and will build on its previous support for electric vehicle charging highway networks, smart charging,  and vehicle-to-grid charging projects, amongst others.

Other funding under the new budget also includes A$60m to expand its existing $100m large-scale battery storage funding round and boost support for the sector which currently has a 70-megawatt capacity.

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The government also allotted A$188.4m for the programme to roll out battery storage for household solar for up to 342 communities across the country.

ARENA will also receive $83.8m to install microgrid technologies for First Nations communities.

“This is a very important budget for Australia’s energy transformation, and for ARENA which affirms the role of the agency in accelerating the energy transition, and the faith the Government has in our work,” said ARENA CEO Darren Miller.

“Having provided nearly $2 billion for more than 600 projects over the last decade, ARENA is already now focussed on how Australia can maximise its advantage in renewable energy to become an energy superpower in a net zero global economy,” he added.