The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) Annual Report for 2014-15 was tabled in the Australian Senate yesterday.
In the Chair’s Report section of the document, Jillian Broadbent AO was quick to remind us of the impact uncertainty regarding the Renewable Energy Target had during the period.
” In a financial year which saw an all-time record of around US$320 billion of global investment in clean energy, Australian clean energy investment fell by 31 per cent,” said Ms. Broadbent. ” Against this background, the CEFC has continued to be an active investor and its portfolio grew by 29 per cent.”
The CEFC made investment commitments of $484 million during the financial year. To date, more than $1.4 billion has been invested by the CEFC, with a current portfolio of $1.2 billion at 30 June 2015. These investments support projects with a total value of around $3.5 billion.
“Investment” is the key term here – the CEFC is not about free money as some appear to believe; it expects a return on the finance and funds it provides. The Corporation does its due diligence and carefully invests in projects by innovative companies that may not otherwise achieve commercial reality.
“The current CEFC portfolio is forecast to earn a lifetime yield of 6.1 per cent, or 2.94 per cent above the average Australian Government bond rate of 3.16 per cent,” states Ms. Broadbent. ” This is a strong achievement in a market challenged by lower interest rates and declining investment opportunities and margins.”
In the report, CEFC CEO Oliver Yates notes that while growth in small-scale solar in Australia has been impressive, there is scope for further improvement.
Mr Yates says there are additional opportunities with energy storage technologies entering the market. Zero-dollar-down systems and greater expansion of uptake of small-scale solar and battery storage by business is also needed.
The 234-page CEFC Annual Report 2014-15 can be viewed in full here (PDF).
The CEFC is an Australian Government statutory authority formed in August 2012 to facilitate increased flows of finance into the clean energy sector.
