Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)

For International Women’s Day, we reflect on the question, ‘How can the Australian energy sector March Forward to a gender equal future?’ Today, women only represent 35% of the renewable energy workforce according to Jobs and Skills Australia. Their report states, ‘increasing women’s participation is key to scaling up the workforce that we need for the net zero transition.’ A diverse workforce is key to driving the innovation required for the energy transition. As a young, values driven sector focused on change, there are growing opportunities for women to get involved. We asked women leading the way in clean energy to share their views and their advice to other women seeking to build a career in renewables and STEM. Read the blog in full to hear what they have to say: https://lnkd.in/gHU2gNnM #IWD2025 #MarchForward #InternationalWomensDay Tanya Hodgson Xiaojing Hao Tania Benedetti Kira Rundel, Ph.D. Linda Zhang UNSW RayGen UN Women Australia

‘For the energy sector in Australia to truly "March Forward," it must embrace inclusive leadership.’ That’s Linda Zhang talking, Senior Strategy Analyst at ARENA. ‘We know that diverse experiences and viewpoints are crucial for effective and innovative solutions in our complex, global industry.’ Linda has some impressive wins under her belt: including delivering a TED Talk, lecturing at university, leading ARENA’s SolarLab and running a climate-tech blog. Linda is helping shape Australia’s renewable future. This International Women’s Day, she’s calling for more diverse leadership, transparent diversity metrics, and workplaces that truly support women. Because the energy sector isn’t just about innovation — it’s also about who gets to drive it. ‘It's vital that the energy sector advances, not just technologically, but it also becomes fairer and truly representative of the society it impacts.’ #IWD2025 #MarchForward #InternationalWomensDay

Are you planning on submitting an expression of interest for ARENA’s second community batteries funding round? Join our upcoming webinar to find out more. We’ll cover: - the assessment process - eligibility - merit criteria - Q&A When: 11 am AEDT Monday 17 March. How: register your attendance at https://lnkd.in/eRaPvHS6 #CommunityBatteries #Solar #RenewableEnergy

For Professor Renate Egan, a solar veteran of 30 years and Executive Director of Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics, the mission is clear: empower the next generation to drive the clean energy future. You might recognise Professor Egan as the woman who helped build the business case for solar in Australia through a decade of research. This International Women’s Day, she sees opportunities for women to get involved in the sector. ‘The diversity of renewable applications creates a diversity of job opportunities to solve a grand challenge,’ she says. Solar has grown tenfold in the last decade, and will continue growing another tenfold, which she says creates a great need for diverse leaders across every field: engineering, finance, law, communications, and beyond. ‘Renewables presents an opportunity to make a difference, to "use your powers for good".’ #IWD2025 #MarchForward #InternationalWomensDay UNSW

Critical energy minerals (CEMs) are essential for the clean energy transition and our latest blog explores why. CEMs are minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. These are crucial for making tech like solar panels, batteries, wind turbines, and electric vehicles. Australia has a unique opportunity to lead in the production and refining of CEMs. By developing low-emission production methods, we can meet our net zero targets and support global demand for renewable energy technologies. At ARENA, we're focusing on innovative solutions to decarbonise the CEM industry. This includes exploring new ways of manufacturing to reduce emissions and improve local refining capabilities. With the right strategies, Australia can become a global leader in the clean energy transition, ensuring a stable supply of CEMs for a sustainable future. Read more on ARENAWire: https://lnkd.in/g-vdAMem #CriticalEnergyMinerals #NetZero #RenewableEnergy

What can the Australian energy sector do to March Forward to a gender equal future? ‘To improve women representation in renewables, it is not enough to give women a seat at the table; we need women leading the table.’ says Dr. Tania Benedetti, Knowledge Sharing Manager at ARENA. In the lead up to International Women’s Day, we’re highlighting women who make an impact in Australia’s energy sector. Dr. Benedetti brings a decade in academic research to distil trends, lessons and insights from ARENA projects to help the industry grow and innovate. ‘The energy sector is still male dominated,’ she says. ‘Male executives must be allies.’ For women working in the sector, Dr. Benedetti encourages women to know that their contribution is valuable. Her advice: - Trust your instincts: be confident that we are as capable as anyone in the room. - Be yourself: you don’t need to follow a certain stereotype to be successful. - Support each other and celebrate success: one woman’s victory is every woman’s victory! #IWD2025 #MarchForward #InternationalWomensDay

$10.4 million will go towards 2 innovative projects helping to make Australian skies cleaner and greener. We’re providing funding to Licella and Viva Energy Australia for separate studies to develop renewable fuel alternatives for Australia’s airline industry: - $8m to Licella for the ‘Project Swift: SAF from Sugarcane Residues Feasibility Study’ - $2.4m to Viva Energy for the ‘SAF infrastructure Solutions for the Future Project’ Australians are among the most prolific flyers in the world. Decarbonising this high emissions industry is vital for us to achieve our net zero targets. Learn more about the projects and ARENA’s Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Funding Initiative: https://lnkd.in/gQ8FW7X6 #SustainableAviationFuel #NetZero #RenewableEnergy #EnergyTransition #EmissionsReduction #CleanEnergy

We’re continuing to fund the roll out of community batteries to benefit Australian neighbourhoods. Round 2 of ARENA's Community Batteries Funding Program offers $46.3 million funding to support the integration of renewable energy in the grid. Renewable energy is the most reliable and cheapest way for Australia to generate electricity. Community batteries store excess energy locally from rooftop solar generation for later use. This helps to cut emissions, lower household bills, and ease pressure on the electricity grid. We’re seeking to fund projects for up to $20 million to deploy community batteries that: - improve the economics of community battery projects, - build industry capacity, - support the integration of distributed energy resources into Australian energy markets, - or demonstrate benefits of community batteries. Learn more about the program and how you can apply: https://lnkd.in/gJjDaJiU Funding applications can be submitted from 17 March 2025. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water #CommunityBatteries #Solar #RenewableEnergy

Australians are embracing electric vehicles, but what if your car could be more than a form of transport? With the potential of two-way charging on the horizon, EVs could help slash consumer power bills and contribute to a cleaner energy grid. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g47jxmfE RACE for 2030 enX consulting #EV #ElectricVehicles #NetZero #RenewableEnergy

A new roadmap is laying the foundation to make bidirectional EV charging a reality for all Australians. An estimated 1.5 million electric vehicles are projected to be on Australian roads by 2030. We’re charging towards a new norm where EVs could take electricity from the grid to charge its battery and send electricity back to the grid or home when needed. Bidirectional EV charging has the potential to become one of the largest forms of domestic flexible electricity generation. It can reduce electricity costs for millions of customers and accelerate national emissions reduction. The National Roadmap for Bidirectional Electric Vehicle Charging is a guide for policies and initiatives to help realise these benefits in the near future. Learn more about the roadmap and the game-changing opportunity the clean energy transition: https://lnkd.in/gumQr9ht Image: courtesy of Amber Electric. RACE for 2030 enX consulting #EV #ElectricVehicles #BidirectionalCharging #V2X #V2G #RenewableEnergy