Delivering a Future Made in Australia with solar manufacturing in Adelaide

The Albanese Government is building Australia’s future by investing in local solar panel manufacturing, with an Adelaide facility securing the first round of funding from the Government’s $1 billion Solar Sunshot program.

The Albanese Government’s Solar Sunshot program is a key component of our plan for a Future Made in Australia. That’s what this announcement is delivering – with investment supporting South Australia’s local manufacturing industry.

Australia has always been a solar powerhouse – the ideas invented here have lit the way for the global energy transformation underway. Yet just a fraction of the solar panels we use today are made in Australia – something the Albanese Government is working to fix.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has awarded $46 million to Australian solar company 5B to scale up production of its Maverick solar units at its Adelaide manufacturing facility.

The funding will help 5B produce enough Maverick units to power over 40,000 homes – 200 MW over 3 years. This will help support over 50 jobs over the next 3 years in roles spanning from assembly line worker through to specialist solar engineers.

The Maverick system is made up of prefabricated panels, which are folded like an accordion into shipping containers, meaning they can be deployed up to 10 times faster and at significantly lower costs.

The $46 million grant funding is made up of a production credit of up to $26 million based on 5B’s Australian-based production for large-scale solar deployed in Australia, and a $20 million capital grant to implement technology design improvements to the company’s solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment technology system.

The $46 million in new Solar Sunshot funding builds on previous ARENA funding to speed up and automate the manufacturing of its 5B Maverick technology.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen:

“When it comes to powering Australia’s future nothing will beat our sun and our solar knowhow. That’s why bringing solar manufacturing to our shores is so critical for unlocking our future as a renewable energy superpower and securing the job of the future.

“As demand for solar surges, homegrown technologies like 5B Maverick help us make solar supply chains stronger and build Australia’s future right here.

“Only the Albanese Government is backing businesses across the country to seize the opportunity of a Future Made in Australia.”