Canberra

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced funding for two clean energy initiatives on the east coast. On Tuesday, he revealed a total of over 50 million Australian dollars (approximately $32.8 million) in federal government support for projects in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria.

A significant portion of the funding, 33.3 million AUD ($21.8 million), will go toward creating the Net Zero Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Newcastle, NSW. The state government will contribute an additional 28.1 million AUD ($18.4 million) to this initiative. Albanese stated that this center will be crucial for training workers in advanced skills needed for transitioning the mining, energy, and manufacturing sectors to a clean energy economy.

The remaining 17 million AUD ($11.1 million) will fund Australia’s first commercial concentrated solar thermal heat plant in Wodonga, Victoria. This project aims to extend the use of solar energy beyond just electricity generation to also include heat production. The 18-megawatt (MW) thermal plant is expected to reduce gas consumption by half at the manufacturing site. Funding for the Wodonga project will be provided by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), which aims to enhance the competitiveness of renewable energy initiatives in Australia.