Reliance Industries, Brookfield sign MoU to boost Australia’s renewable energy sector

Brookfield Asset Management and India’s largest private sector enterprise, Reliance Industries, have made a landmark agreement, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aimed at bringing renewable energy and decarbonization equipment manufacturing to Australia.

The partnership hopes to speed up and reduce risks associated with Australia’s energy transition by enabling the local production of clean energy apparatus, including PV modules, long duration battery storage, and wind energy components.

The MoU sets the stage for Brookfield to collaborate with Reliance in exploring avenues for direct capital investment and developing skills in Australia’s renewable energy sector. This partnership aims to fast-track Australia’s journey towards a net zero future. The duo is considering setting up advanced operations in Australia for manufacturing and assembling equipment used in renewable energy projects. Reliance’s strong prowess in solar panel technology and long duration battery storage technology is anticipated to be beneficial in this endeavor.

As a part of this agreement, Brookfield and its institutional partners, GIC and Temasek, along with global institutional investors, plan to invest between A$20 billion and A$30 billion over the next decade to speed up its energy transition. This significant investment is backed by an independent analysis commissioned by Brookfield, which suggests the establishment of onshore sovereign manufacturing capability for the energy transition could potentially create approximately 18,000 direct and indirect jobs in regions most impacted by the transition.

Luke Edwards, Brookfield Renewable Head of Australia, expressed optimism about this venture, emphasizing Australia’s rich history in manufacturing and abundant raw material resources. Anant Ambani, Director, Reliance New Energy Limited, expressed confidence in the partnership and its potential to accelerate Australia’s transition to a Net Zero future.

This partnership, given Brookfield’s strong track record of committing long-term capital to enable the energy transition and its innovative approach to large-scale investments in re-shoring of essential and strategic manufacturing processes and supply chains, has the potential to make a significant impact on Australia’s renewable energy landscape.