Energy Minister Pledges to Bring Solar Panel Manufacturing Back to Australia

Chris Bowen, minister for energy and climate change, speaks to media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on June 16, 2022. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Australian Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has promised to reinvigorate the solar manufacturing industry with a $1 billion (US$650 million) package.

In a recent video on social media, the minister provided an update on the Solar SunShot program, which is part of an ambitious plan to turn Australia into a “renewable energy superpower” via $40 billion worth of investment.

Under the program, the federal government will use production subsidies and grants to encourage solar panel producers to establish manufacturing facilities in Australia.

Government support will apply to manufacturing facilities that are directly involved in the solar panels supply chain, such as the production of polysilicon (a key material of solar panels) and panel cells, as well as solar modules.

The program may also support companies that produce ancillary components for solar panels.

Mr. Bowen announced that Sundrive, a local manufacturer capable of producing the world’s most efficient solar panels, would move their factory to the old site of the Liddell Power Station in New South Wales (NSW) under the Solar SunShot program.

“That new factory would employ more people than used to be employed at the Liddell Power Station,” he said.

While the minister acknowledged that much more work needed to be done to boost Australia’s manufacturing capability, he said the Solar SunShot program would get it done.

According to the government, Australia has the highest uptake of solar panels globally, with one in three households adopting the technology.

Nevertheless, only 1 percent of the solar panels sold in the country each year are produced in Australia.

Security Concerns About Chinese-Made Solar Panels

Mr. Bowen’s statement comes after his department was questioned about the security risks solar panels present to the national electricity grid.

During a Senate inquiry in February, NSW Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes raised the issue that overseas malicious actors could manipulate Australia’s power system via the smart inverters used in many solar panels in the country.

“We have a significant number, a vast proportion of solar inverters that can be controlled by an outside player and are being provided and manufactured by companies with very strong ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” she said.

“This is a matter of national security.”

It was reported in 2021 that around 80 percent of all solar panels in Australia, and 90 percent of imported solar panels were produced in China.

While a representative of the Climate Change and Energy Department said his department had worked with the Home Affairs Department to develop strategies in relation to the security risks of solar panels, he admitted it was not a focus of their work.