Australian Renewable Energy Agency Amendment (2020‑21 Budget Programs) Regulations 2021

I, General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulations.

Dated 13 May 2021

David Hurley

Governor‑General

By His Excellency’s Command

Angus Taylor

Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction

Contents

1 Name

2 Commencement

3 Authority

4 Schedules

Schedule 1—Amendments

Australian Renewable Energy Agency Regulation 2016

1  Name

  This instrument is the Australian Renewable Energy Agency Amendment (2020‑21 Budget Programs) Regulations 2021.

2  Commencement

 (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.

 (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.

3  Authority

  This instrument is made under the Australian Renewable Energy Agency Act 2011.

4  Schedules

  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Amendments

Australian Renewable Energy Agency Regulation 2016

1  Section 4

Repeal the section, substitute:

4  Definitions

Note: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in the Act, including the following:

(a) ARENA (short for Australian Renewable Energy Agency);

(b) financial assistance;

(c) renewable energy technologies.

  In this instrument:

Act means the Australian Renewable Energy Agency Act 2011.

carbon capture and storage has the same meaning as in the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007.

carbon capture and utilisation means either of the following in relation to a greenhouse gas that would otherwise be emitted to the atmosphere:

 (a) the utilisation of the greenhouse gas to produce other substances;

 (b) the capture, compression, processing, offloading, transportation or piped conveyance of the greenhouse gas, where the compression, processing, offloading, transportation or piped conveyance is for the purposes of utilisation of the greenhouse gas as mentioned in paragraph (a).

Clean Energy Innovation Fund: see subsection 5(2).

clean energy technologies: technologies that are any one or more of the following are clean energy technologies:

 (a) energy efficiency technologies;

 (b) low‑emission technologies;

 (c) renewable energy technologies.

energy efficiency technologies includes technologies (including enabling technologies) that are related to energy conservation technologies or demand management technologies.

Freight Energy Productivity Program financial assistance means financial assistance for:

 (a) anything that is intended both:

 (i) to increase energy productivity or fuel efficiency; and

 (ii) to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases;

  in the road transport sector; or

 (b) without limiting paragraph (a)—test projects relating to the effects of road transport technologies on energy productivity, fuel efficiency or the emission of greenhouse gases.

Future Fuels Fund financial assistance means financial assistance for anything that is intended to reduce barriers to businesses in the road transport sector using new clean energy technologies for vehicles.

Example: Funding for research into, or for trials, demonstrations or deployments of, any of the following:

(a) charging infrastructure, including public electric vehicle chargers;

(b) biofuel refuelling infrastructure;

(c) hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, including infrastructure that integrates hydrogen refuelling with hydrogen production;

(d) electrical upgrades relating to charging electric vehicles;

(e) batteries or fuel cells, or related technologies, for electric vehicles.

Industrial Energy Transformation Studies Program financial assistance means financial assistance for studies conducted for the purpose of improving business decisions relating to investing in clean energy technologies.

Regional Australia Microgrid Pilots Program financial assistance means financial assistance for pilot projects relating to the use, in regional and remote areas, of microgrids that use renewable energy or low‑emission technologies.

Technology Investment Roadmap financial assistance means financial assistance for research into, test projects of, or for trials, demonstrations or deployments of, clean energy technologies that:

 (a) are, or that relate to, any of the following:

 (i) carbon capture and storage, or carbon capture and utilisation;

 (ii) clean hydrogen;

 (iii) energy storage;

 (iv) the manufacturing of materials (including steel and aluminium);

 (v) soil carbon; or

 (b) could reasonably be expected to control, reduce or prevent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases to a material extent.

test project includes:

 (a) a demonstration project; and

 (b) a feasibility study; and

 (c) a pilot project; and

 (d) a pilot study.

2  Section 5 (heading)

Repeal the heading, substitute:

5  ARENA’s prescribed functions—Clean Energy Innovation Fund

3  Subsection 5(1)

Omit “For paragraph 8(f)”, substitute “For the purposes of paragraph 8(f)”.

4  Paragraph 5(1)(a)

Omit “within the meaning of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation Act 2012”.

5  Subsection 5(1) (note)

Repeal the note.

6  Subsection 5(2)

Omit “regulation”, substitute “instrument”.

7  At the end of Part 2

Add:

6  ARENA’s prescribed functions—2020‑21 Budget programs

  For the purposes of paragraph 8(f) of the Act, ARENA has the following functions:

 (a) to provide the following financial assistance:

 (i) Freight Energy Productivity Program financial assistance;

 (ii) Future Fuels Fund financial assistance;

 (iii) Industrial Energy Transformation Studies Program financial assistance;

 (iv) Regional Australia Microgrid Pilots Program financial assistance;

 (v) Technology Investment Roadmap financial assistance;

 (b) to enter into agreements for the purpose of providing financial assistance as mentioned in paragraph (a) and to administer such agreements;

 (c) to collect, analyse, interpret and disseminate information and knowledge relating to the outcomes of the projects, studies and other things for which financial assistance was provided as mentioned in paragraph (a);

 (d) to liaise with State and Territory governments and other authorities for the purpose of facilitating programs under which financial assistance is, or is proposed to be, provided as mentioned in paragraph (a).