The Hunter stands to gain more from the clean energy transition than any other region in Australia, but only if government industry policy allows it to leverage its natural advantages, a new report says.
The report, Towards a renewable energy superpower, industry opportunities for Australia to embrace the clean energy revolution, sets out the opportunities to accelerate the energy transition through green industry policy.
It identifies key opportunities to develop renewable energy supply chains, including diversified battery supply, wind and solar panel manufacturing, high-voltage cable manufacturing and electric vehicle production.
It argues that, with the right industry policies in place, the economic and employment benefits will be considerable.
And the Hunter is situated at the epicentre of the national opportunity.
"What we need is good industry policy, that will deliver outcomes for workers and their communities. It will also ensure that places like the Hunter are major players in the renewable energy manufacturing industry," Australian Manufacturing Workers Union acting state secretary Brad Pidgeon said.
If realised, is estimated that Hunter offshore wind will create 300 new full time jobs and 3000 construction jobs.
AGL and SunDrive have signed a memorandum of understanding to investigate the opportunity to manufacture solar panels at the site of the former Liddell Power Station by 2026
The government believes the project could eventually employ more than the 180 people who were employed at the former power station.
In addition, an estimated 720 workers are expected to be employed at Energy Renaissance's Hunter lithium battery manufacturing plant within five years.
Other opportunities exist in electric vehicle manufacture and high voltage cable manufacturing.
Mr Pidgeon said discussions with state and federal governments were ongoing regarding the development of industry policy to ensure local supply chains and work forces were used to build projects such as wind turbines.
"We've had numerous discussions with both state and federal governments in relation to ensuring that the local content and procurement is embodied in contracts moving forward such as offshore wind," he said.
"Those discussions have been ongoing for quite some time now but there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that procurement is enshrined in legislation both at the state and federal government level."
The need for a domestic solar panel recycling industry has been growing exponentially in recent years as a result of the rooftop solar boom.
But for all the clean energy being produced, 87 per cent of Australia's solar photovoltaic waste is not recycled.
The technology is now Australia's fastest-growing electronic waste stream.
The report, commissioned by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union and Climate Action Network Australia, notes that a key component of a revitalised sovereign manufacturing industry was recycling.
In relation to battery and solar panel manufacturing, the report argues that there are major economic opportunities in recycling those projects at the end of their life.
"We believe that we shouldn't just be digging and shipping materials overseas to build batteries or solar panels. We can recycle those materials to create a circular economy to ensure that we meet our environmental targets as opposed to burying them into landfill," Mr Pidgeon said.
