The Illawarra could be saddled with cracking wind turbines and miss a generation of opportunities in the renewable energy sector if governments don't get local content policies right, a new report has warned, as Australia steps up its ambition to manufacture more renewable energy infrastructure domestically.
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On Thursday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivered a landmark speech in Queensland, outlining the government's vision to fund advanced manufacturing and clean energy in the proposed Future Made In Australia Act.
This follows the $1 billion announcement to manufacture solar panels in the Hunter made last month.
However, a new report commissioned by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union warns that if government policies around skills and local content are not strengthened, this investment could be for naught, and industrial regions like the Illawarra would miss out on jobs and investment.
Released on Wednesday, the report identifies opportunities in battery manufacturing, wind-power, solar manufacturing and building electric heavy vehicles, however cautions that without funding and the right policies, Australia's potential in these areas could be squandered.
The Illawarra is no stranger to this, with proposals across a range of these areas including local wind towers, electric vehicles and battery manufacturing stymied by policy and funding decisions.
AMWU acting NSW & ACT state secretary Brad Pidgeon said what was holding the region back was strong industry policy.
"That should be coming out of the Illawarra through good procurement policy and legislation that allows us to have a domestic manufacturing capability, but we need to have the right investment and right levers to do this," he said.
"There are many businesses out there that want to partake in this energy transition more, but they need a firm commitment about getting the right investment, the right skills and training for their workforce and long term stability."
The state and federal governments have committed to establishing a renewables skills centre in the Illawarra, at the University of Wollongong and Wollongong TAFE, however there are concerns that the closure of coal mines before major renewable projects kicks off could lead to a brain drain from the region.
In addition, while there has been $43 billion of interest in the proposed Illawarra Renewable Energy Zone from private interests, there has been little movement locally and other regions have been delayed as the government grapples with pushback on transmission lines.
Mr Pidgeon said while the federal government was taking steps in the right direction, both levels of government need to coordinate, for example in local content and procurement.
"We recognise we can't manufacture everything here in Australia, but certainly we should make sure that we can maximise participation from industry where we can."
If this doesn't occur, Mr Pidgeon said, this would lead to inferior products and a lost generation of workers.
"What we're seeing from imports is inferior products, many of these wind towers have got to be repaired due to cracks in the steel, which is a concern," he said.
"Renewable energy is going to happen whether we like it or not, and if we don't get this right then we'll miss the opportunity to create jobs locally, to have skilled people and have investment in our regional economies."
