MEDIA RELEASE
18 November 2009
Tax may provide the break needed for renewable energy
NATIONAL: Australia’s renewable energy industry has called on the Federal Government to
consider tax breaks similar to those in the mining industry, or risk local companies taking world-
leading innovation offshore.
Clean Energy Council chief executive Matthew Warren said a report produced by Ernst & Young
identified tax breaks as an effective and equitable way to stimulate the growth of emerging
renewable technologies in Australia.
“Developing clean energy technologies is like minerals exploration, but in reverse,” Mr Warren
said.
“With minerals exploration, we have the technology but we don’t know where the resources are.
With renewable energy, the resources are virtually limitless but we are still developing the
technologies to harness them at the lowest cost.
“Exploring new clean energy technologies is a risky business. To help investors reduce that risk
these companies need the same kind of tax incentives enjoyed by other resource sectors,” he said.
Mr Warren said direct funding was always welcome to develop specific technologies, but it
inevitably involved governments picking winners and providing support to selected companies.
“Companies that are unsuccessful under these programs will inevitably seek other sources of
funds offshore to keep developing. Tax breaks may help free up capital and nurture an indigenous
clean tech sector in Australia,” he said. “They effectively help business to pick its own winners.”
The Ernst & Young report ‘Accelerating Cleantech – future tax measures to accelerate the delivery
of clean technologies in Australia’ found no specific tax incentives in existing Australian tax law to
support the deployment and development of clean energy technologies, and suggested the Henry
Tax Review be used to address this.
The Ernst & Young report is available from the Clean Energy Council website at
For media enquiries please call Mark Bretherton +61 3 9929 4111 or +61 413 556 981
The Clean Energy Council, the peak body for the clean energy sector, is working with all Australian
governments to ensure a secure and diversified energy sector; a reduction in energy waste including the
take up of solar water heating and insulation and more clean energy sources in our stationary energy mix
from solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, wave and bioenergy.
Suite 201, 18 Kavanagh Street, Southbank 3006, Australia
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