ARENA provides AU$17 million for renewables R&D but concerns over long-term funding

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Flickr: Tim Swinson

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing AU$17 million (US$13 million) funding for nine renewable energy research and development projects looking at energy storage and solar PV among other technologies.

However, Australian Solar Council chief executive John Grimes has raised concerns over the long-term prospests for R&D funding in Australia after the Turnbull and Abbott-led governments recently cut AU$1.3 billion from ARENA.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

ARENA chief executive Ivor Frischknecht said the new funding would create clear pathways for renewable energy technologies to become commercially viable by fostering collaboration between research institutions and industry.

He added: “ARENA’s AU$17 million funding is leveraging substantial contributions from private and public sectors, with combined project values totalling more than AU$54 million. This will tap into our home-grown ingenuity and complement our existing portfolio of 144 R&D projects.”

The Australian National University is heading three projects, one of which will develop a system to estimate the power produced by all the rooftop solar PV in a given area. Another will look at how robots could capture data for solar installation diagnostics and the third will look at how battery storage and solar can solve network constraint problems on Bruny Island, which is situated off the south-eastern coast of Tasmania.

Grimes welcomed the funding announcement, but warned that Australia must continue to invest in early stage solar R&D and claimed that the government will no longer provide competitive grant funding for this purpose.

Grimes claimed that the government will require any new funding to be repaid, with interest, under a debt or equity model, even though early stage research is “speculative by nature” and is “unable to pass commercial investment criteria”. 

He said: “This almost guarantees the end of early-stage solar research and commercialisation in Australia, because funding will no longer be available for it.”

In related news, ARENA has also brought in six new directors to its Board including Martijn Wilder, Susan Jeanes, Meg McDonald, Katherine Woodthorpe, Maria Atkinson and Jonathan Jutsen.

Read Next

September 10, 2025
The CEFC has said that a coordinated approach to transmission in Pilbara, Western Australia, could save more than AU$30 billion over 25 years.
September 9, 2025
Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM) broke records yesterday when renewables supplied 76.4% of total electricity demand, with solar power contributing nearly 60% of the record-breaking clean energy mix.
September 5, 2025
Research firm Rystad Energy has found that Queensland’s utility-scale solar PV power plants have dominated the best-performing assets, in terms of AC capacity factor, rankings for August 2025.
September 4, 2025
ARENA has launched the second funding round of its AU$1 billion Solar Sunshot programme, making AU$150 million available.
September 1, 2025
Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) hit a record high for the combined utility-scale solar PV and wind share in the electricity mix on 30 August.
August 31, 2025
Renewables developer and independent power producer (IPP) TagEnergy has acquired Australian developer ACE Power, adding 6GW of renewable energy and storage projects to its portfolio.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines