Government announces full support of CEFC Review recommendations

The Gillard Government has announced its full support for all of the recommendations of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) Expert Review.

The Review was conducted to advise on the design of the $10 billion CEFC, which will provide funding for renewable energy, low emissions and energy efficiency technology.

A statement from the Gillard Government said it “announced the CEFC as part of the Clean Energy Future package to encourage private investment and help overcome capital market barriers to commercialising and deploying cleaner energy technologies.”

The CEFC will commence operations from 1 July 2013 after being established through legislation. “The CEFC will bring to bear the utmost rigour in assessing its investments,” the government statement said, “but will also give effect to its important public policy objectives by facilitating transactions where they may face barriers to private investment.”

The CEFC will be guided by three principles: it will focus on investing in Australia’s clean energy sector; it will apply commercial rigour to its investment decisions; and it will examine financial barriers and determine whether an investment can be structured to overcome those barriers.