Kiwi companies may get part of $800m Aus fund

Kiwi companies may get part of $800m Australian clean energy fund

New Zealand companies might be eligible for some of the new $800 million clean energy fund announced in Australia’s Budget this week.

The Australian Government is putting the extra money into renewable energy projects – and under CER arrangements, New Zealand companies could be entitled to bid for the work, Carbon News (www.carbonnews.co.nz) reports this morning.

The $800m ($A652m) is to go into a new Renewable Energy Future Fund, which the Australian Government says will be used to support renewable energy projects and to develop low-emissions technologies.

The fund will be part of the $6 billion Clean Energy Initiative strategy to meet the target of 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020, and will work in partnership with private-sector funding.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Carbon News, New Zealand’s only specialist information service on the carbon markets, that New Zealand companies might qualify for the scheme.

“Should this funding involve the procurement of a good or service (i.e. stall or retrofit renewable energy), it would come under the provisions of the Australia and New Zealand Government Procurement Agreement, where it is agreed that Australian and New Zealand suppliers compete on an equal and transparent basis for government contracts,”

However, details about how the fund will be distributed are still being worked out.

ENDS

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