Applications open for Clean Energy Future Fund in Australia

Deadline: 10-Jun-24
Apply for the Clean Energy Future Fund that supports the implementation of innovative clean energy projects in Western Australia.

Funding Objectives 

• The objective of the Fund is to provide a source of funding for the implementation of innovative, clean energy projects in Western Australia that offer high public value through contributing to one or more of the following outcomes:
  • Significant, cost-effective reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below projected (or baseline) emissions as a direct result of the clean energy project.
  • Design, deployment, testing or demonstration of innovative clean energy projects likely to deliver community benefits or lead to broad adoption and significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Ministerial Priorities 

• Priorities for Round 3, determined by the Minister for Energy; Environment; Climate Action are:
  • Clean energy projects led by First Nations people that put their communities at the centre of development, design, implementation, and benefit-sharing.
  • Innovative clean energy projects in regional and remote Western Australia. Regional and remote Western Australia means projects that are at the fringe of, or are not connected to, the South West Interconnected System or the North West Interconnected System.
  • Clean energy projects that improve the security and resilience of networked electricity supply in line with the Distributed Energy Resources Roadmap.
  • Clean energy projects that support decarbonisation of existing industry and the development of new, low-emissions industries in Western Australia.
  • Projects that enhance energy efficiency and materially reduce emissions from the built environment or manufacturing.
  • Clean energy projects that support the replacement of diesel electricity generation with renewable energy.
  • Projects that can deliver long-duration energy storage by 2030.
  • Ministerial priorities identify areas of strategic importance to the state. The extent to which a proposal aligns with Ministerial priorities will be assessed and included in recommendations to guide Ministerial decision-making.
  • Projects do not need to align with Ministerial priorities to be assessed or to be recommended for funding.

Funding Information                            

• A total of $21.7 million is available for allocation across this round and two future grant rounds.
• Minimum and maximum grant size $100,000 to $4 million (GST exclusive).
• Maximum percentage of eligible project costs the grant can cover 25 per cent.
• Maximum time to spend funds 5 years.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicant Criteria
  • Incorporation: At the time of entering into a Funding Agreement, the applicant must be an Australian entity incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) or the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth) or a local government entity, government research organisation, university, or a consortium with an eligible entity as lead applicant.
  • ABN and GST: The applicant must have an Australian Business Number (ABN) and be GST registered.
  • Sanctions: The applicant must not be listed in the Australian trade sanctions consolidated list.
  • Fit and proper persons: The members of the management team must be fit and proper persons to engage in the applicant’s authorised activities by reference to:
    • No disqualification by law from performing their role.
    • No conflict of interest or other conflict that may create a material risk that they will fail to properly perform in their management role.
    • Their legal right to carry out and control the project under consideration.
• Project Criteria
  • Location: The applicant must be able to demonstrate that the project will take place primarily in Western Australia.
  • Clean energy project: The proposal must be a clean energy project. That is, it must deploy or apply a technology that reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the production or use of stationary energy. This could include energy control or management systems, renewable energy, energy storage and/or energy efficiency. It must be permissible by law.
  • Prescribed funding limits: The proposal should seek funding within specified funding limits. Applications requesting more than $4 million (GST exclusive) will be considered on merit and will not be excluded on this basis. However, the State Government may offer less funding than the amount sought by an applicant and may attach conditions or requirements to any funding offer. If a proposal has existing State Government funding, this will be counted within the 25 per cent maximum that can be sought from the Fund.
  • Timing: A Funding Agreement must be signed within six months of receiving written notification of the funding award. The project must commence within six months of signing the Funding Agreement and be completed within five years.
• Merit Criteria 
  • The assessment process is designed to identify projects with the highest expected value for each dollar of funding requested. This is done by evaluating the:
    • Benefits of the project if successful.
    • Likelihood of the project succeeding.
    • Demonstrated need for the grant.

Ineligible Projects 

• Ineligible project types include but are not limited to:
  • Projects that are already underway.
  • The cessation of the operation of a business to reduce emissions.
  • Business-as-usual activities (i.e. normal operation of an existing business or venture).
  • Early-stage research (i.e. Technical Readiness Level 1 to 5).
  • Projects not involving specific sites/locations in Western Australia.

For more information, visit Government of Western Australia.