By Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra Opposition leader Peter Dutton has announced seven sites for reactors, unveiling his long-awaited and highly-controversial policy for nuclear power with the claim it could start operating from the 2030s. The locations are the sites of former or current coal plants. They have the technical attributes needed for a nuclear…
The final recipients of the Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority (SICP) and Defence Global Competitiveness Grant (DGCG) programs have been awarded a cumulative $2.9 million in funding. In a statement on the new DIDG program, which was launched on Monday, industry minister Pat Conroy also shared news of nine grant recipients for the outgoing SICP and…
Program guidelines have been released for Defence Industry Development Grants, with applications to open on Tuesday for the new program which is planned to award $150 million in grants over four years to SMEs DIDG covers four streams – “development of sovereign industrial priorities, export opportunities, technical skills and security controls which are relevant in the…
By Bruce Mountain, Victoria University CSIRO’s latest annual GenCost update, released last month, was billed as Australia’s “most comprehensive electricity generation cost report”. GenCost has proven to be highly controversial. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton previously levelled robust criticism at the report, specifically the high costs attributed to building nuclear power in Australia, and called for…
Industry minister Ed Husic is in the United States this week, including the Californian technology hubs of San Francisco and San Diego, “to showcase a Future Made in Australia”. In a statement over the weekend, Husic said he will be in the US from June 1 to 6 and will lead the nation’s presence at…
The biggest single tender for an Australian renewable energy projects opened on Friday, with bids welcomed for projects delivering 6 gigawatts of generation across the National Electricity Market (NEM.) According to a statement from federal energy minister Chris Bowen, it is the first in a series of six-monthly tenders as part of a plan to…
By Sanjoy Paul, University of Technology Sydney and Priyabrata Chowdhury, RMIT University The shift towards net zero emissions and greater international competition have created new opportunities for clean energy industries – poised to shape the global economy in the coming decades. To harness these opportunities, the government has developed a long-term strategic initiative called the…
By Kylie Turner, Climateworks Centre and Luke Brown, Climateworks Centre In the budget last week, the government was keen to talk about its efforts to turn Australia into a renewable superpower under the umbrella of the Future Made in Australia policies. Future Made is a framework that sets out how to target green subsidies to…
By Ian Lowe, Griffith University For decades, Australia has exported uranium – but not used it, other than in the Lucas Heights research reactor. But change is coming. We now face a rapidly deepening commitment to the nuclear industry, through nuclear submarines (bipartisan support) or nuclear reactors (Coalition support). The Albanese government was quick to accept…
By Kylie Walker, Australian National University This year’s federal budget is making up for decades of lost time – both in our clean energy transition and in betting on new technological breakthroughs. The Future Made in Australia Act holds tantalising potential for building Australian science, research and development. The aim is to turn Australia into…
