Energy company AGL has announced an initiative today which is designed to fund large amounts of new renewable energy.
The Powering Australian Renewables Fund will be a new entity tasked with funding a portfolio of new renewable energy projects, which AGL believes will add up to $2-3 billion worth of investment which it expects will deliver about 1000 megawatts of new renewables.
The company will contribute $200 million in equity and will seek investment partners for the new fund.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for renewable energy developers has been securing long-term agreements with energy retailers to buy the renewable energy that will be generated from new wind or solar farms. These power purchase agreements will be part of the Powering Australian Renewables, although for a shorter term than has been traditionally seen in the renewable energy industry.
Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton said AGL's commitment to delivering 1000 megawatts (MW) of new renewable energy is a welcome step forward for large-scale renewable energy in Australia.
"This sort of progress is crucial to unlocking the many thousands of megawatts of renewable energy projects that are ready and waiting to be built around Australia,” Mr Thornton said.
"With this sort of innovation Australia can make real progress toward our 2020 Renewable Energy Target and take advantage of our world-class wind, sun and water to go much further beyond 2020.
"The industry looks forward to working with AGL on the detail of its new investment vehicle and working with all liable parties to ensure they deliver on their obligations to bring forward more renewable energy in the future," he said.
AGL has put out a media release which includes some information about the new fund, along with a blog post and a short YouTube video.