Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday Senator Williams asked me some questions in relation to the Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment Program. The senator suggested that grants were not available for replacement or upgrading of capital equipment. I am advised that the guidelines do enable that if the equipment reduces emissions or energy intensity, and there are a range of other additional qualifiers. I seek leave to incorporate this additional information into Hansard.

Leave granted.

The answer read as follows—

The Government has allocated $200 million over 6 years to the Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment Program (FFIP), including a dedicated funding stream of $150 million for the food sector. The FFIP is open to all food and beverage processors. Applications will open for the FFIP early in 2012 prior to commencement of the carbon price.

The minimum FFIP grant size is $25,000; there is no maximum grant size. Grants can fund a wide range of projects including replacement or upgrading of capital equipment that reduces emissions or energy intensity, improving energy efficiency or emissions intensity in collaboration with an upstream or downstream supplier in the same supply chain, or improving energy efficiency or emissions intensity of the in-use life of a product. Applicants under the program will be assessed with regard to the extent of the reduction in carbon emissions intensity, including through improvements in energy efficiency, arising from a proposed project.

All grants will require a co-contribution from the grant recipient. Investments that improve energy efficiency or reduce emissions intensity will have long term financial benefits for the grant recipient, beyond the impact of the carbon price. Upgrading capital equipment or making other improvements to production processes are also likely to have broader productivity benefits for food processors, for example, by reducing the consumption of emissions intensive inputs. The extent to which a project would improve a processor's competitiveness will be taken into account in awarding grants.

The Government has also allocated a further $800 million over 7 years to the Clean Technology Investment Program. The CTIP is open to all manufacturers that use more than the equivalent of 300 MWh of energy per year. If funding under the FFIP is exhausted, food and beverage processors will be able to access funding under the CTIP.

In addition, the Clean Energy Future Plan includes $200 million over 5 years for the Clean Technology Innovation Program. This program will provide grants to support business investment in research and development in the areas of, low pollution technology and energy efficiency.