Thursday 28 March
Farmers welcome investment in local solar manufacturing
- Farmers welcome boost to local solar panel manufacturing
- The energy shift is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to boost regional jobs and careers
- Farmers want locally made goods just like Australians want locally grown food
Farmers for Climate Action has welcomed the Federal Government’s $1 billion fund to grow Australia’s solar panel industry.
Farmers for Climate Action CEO Natalie Collard said the energy shift was a once-in-a-generation chance to grow modern manufacturing and create more high-paying careers in regional Australia.
“If we grow our local manufacturing, those farmers who choose to have solar panels and batteries on their farm could be using solar panels and batteries made by local people in the local region,” Ms Collard said.
“Deep pollution reduction this decade requires lots of manufactured parts, and we can’t rely on other countries to make the things we need for the energy shift. We currently import the vast majority of our solar panels and batteries but we can change this. We can have solar panels and batteries made in places like the Latrobe Valley, the Illawarra, the Hunter, Kwinana and Central Queensland.
“Let’s make solar panels, batteries and more right here in regional Australia instead of mining the materials and sending them overseas to create manufacturing jobs there. Let’s make sure we have these modern manufacturing jobs in regional Australia, not overseas.
“Creating these industries here in regional Australia can offer our regional kids careers in their home towns and keep their brains in the bush. Then our farmers and city folk alike can buy Aussie-made goods the same as we ask Australians to buy locally-grown food and farm produce.”
