Australian manufacturers of solar photovoltaic module frames, glass, junction boxes and deployment technologies are in the sights of the federal government’s Solar Sunshot, with $150 million offer through a second round of the $1 billion funding scheme.
Federal energy minister Chris Bowen announced on Thursday that Round 2 of Solar Sunshot will open to submissions on September 23, taking the next step in the Albanese government’s Future Made in Australia plans.
Like rounds 1A and 1B, round 2 will be overseen by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena), with a focus on extending funding support to additional segments of the solar supply chain.
“Solar Sunshot is all about making more of the clean energy technology we need right here in Australia,” said Bowen on Thursday. “Round 1 is already proving that with the right backing, Australian companies can scale up solar manufacturing.
“Round 2 is the next step – targeting critical parts of the supply chain to build resilience, security and new jobs.”
Federal Labor first announced its Solar Sunshot policy in March 2024, promising $1 billion in production subsidies and grants to build a solar supply chain on Australian soil.
Australia “should not be the last link in a global supply chain built on an Australian invention,” Albanese said in a speech delivered from the then recently closed Liddell coal-fired power station in the New South Wales Hunter region.
Round 1A – launched in September 2024 and now closed – dedicated up to $500 million to support module manufacturing, while Round 1B set aside $50 million for feasibility and engineering studies. Round 1B has been extended until November 2026.
In May this year the rapid-deploying technology of Australian innovator 5B was announced as the first recipient of Round 1 funding, awarded $46 million to scale up production of its Maverick solar units at its Adelaide manufacturing facility.
And then last month, Australia’s only PV panel manufacturer, Tindo Solar, was awarded $34.5 million to renovate and ramp up production at its Mawson Lakes factory, also in South Australia, and to expand its product range to include premium N-type modules.
Through Round 1B, a total of $11 million has been awarded to three feasibility studies for upstream solar manufacturing, including $4.7 million to Stellar PV to scope out construction of a 2 GW low-emissions polysilicon ingot pulling and wafering facility close to Townsville in Queensland.
Another $5 million was granted to Solquartz for its Townsville Green Polysilicon Feasibility Study into a 100,000 tpa low-emission, solar-grade polysilicon production facility, also close to Townsville.
And in NSW, a company called Energus received $1.3 million for a study into a 50,000 tpa low-emissions, solar-grade polysilicon production facility at AGL’s Hunter Energy Hub.
The second round has $150 million on offer to advance and automate the manufacture of solar module components and to increase cost competition and resilience of underlying solar module inputs and supporting technology.
Round 2 also seeks to support the scale-up of domestic solar PV deployment and to support innovative approaches to cutting solar deployment costs.
The shift in focus speaks to the theory espoused by Arena chief Darren Miller, that getting a foothold in global solar manufacturing is not necessarily all about making panels – and it most definitely isn’t about competing with China.
“We need to be able to play a meaningful role in the supply chains,” Miller told Renew Economy’s Solar insiders podcast last year.
“And that doesn’t mean we need to be able to do everything ourselves. But it does mean we should find out if there are sweet spots where Australia can thrive and and others rely on us so that when when things get difficult, we have a seat at the table.”
In comments this week, Miller reiterated this belief. “Australia has the opportunity to build high-quality products across the solar PV supply chain,” he said on Thursday.
“Although we have a very small production capability today, we have the skills, partnerships and raw materials to establish a strong base that can be built on over the next decade.”
Arena is hosting a webinar to introduce Solar SunShot Round 2 on September 23, from 10:00am to 11:30am. Register here.
