More than $20 million in grants for green technology projects with “high public value” are up for grabs in Western Australia under the latest round of the state government’s Clean Energy Future Fund.
Projects that deploy technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy generation can receive up to $4 million in the program’s third round, which opened on Thursday.
Grant recipients will be able to use the funding to foot up to a quarter of a project’s overall cost. They will also have up to five years to spend the funding.
Technology priorities include distributed energy resources, projects that enhance energy efficiency and materially reduce emissions from the built environment or manufacturing, or solutions that can deliver long-duration energy storage by 2030.
Overall, $21.7 million of funding will be available through round three of the program and two subsequent rounds that have yet to be announced. Energy projects for use in transport will not be funded.
To be eligible for funding, technologies must at least be operational prototypes, beyond technology readiness level five, and can range from energy control or management systems to renewable energy generation or storage facilities.
Projects will primarily be assessed on their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, followed by their potential for wider adoption. Knowledge sharing benefits, intellectual property management, and whether a project promotes innovation will also be considered.
As a part of the state government’s sectoral emissions reduction strategy, released in December 2023, an additional $18 million will be added to the Clean Energy Future Fund, taking the total value of the fund to $37 million.
So far, $12 million worth of grants have been awarded across eight projects, including a $1.7 million grant to Alcoa for a green aluminium pilot and $1.8 million to Advanced Energy Resources’ wind, solar, and battery microgrid, which incorporates biogas and existing solar generation.
Energy, Environment and Climate Action minister Reece Whitby said that “by working with industry, the state government can position WA to maximise decarbonisation’s economic opportunities and reach net zero emissions by 2050”.
The state government has committed to phasing out its coal-fired power stations by 2030 and has previously stated that state-owned energy company Synergy would invest at least $3.8 billion to build out the green energy generation, storage, and infrastructure needed to replace it.
