The Australian government funded Clean Energy Finance Corporation has revealed that the green bank is currently weighing up $4 billion worth of applications that would amount to $11 billion worth of projects.
That is despite the threat of legislative repeal hanging over its head as the conservative Liberal-National federal government tries to shut down the fund, which was legislated by the previous Labor government
The Australian Financial Review newspaper reports a letter from chairperson Jill Broadbent and chief executive Oliver Yates to fellow board members said the green bank was experiencing increasing interest.
The letter added the CEFC was “on track to reach our target of $800 million to $1 billion invested in our first financial year”.
At present, the clean energy fund has committed $700 million to financing projects, The AFR said.
Those projects mean co-finance partners including some of Australia’s major banks tipping in $1.8 billion.
They also mean the CEFC is earning an average 7 per cent return, above the government’s cost of funds at 3.5 per cent.
While a CEFC repeal bill, which would hit government coffers by at least $200 million annually, has passed the lower House of Representative, which the government controls, it has been defeated in the Senate, which is currently controlled by the Labor opposition and the Australian Greens Party.
The Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey has previously instructed the CEFC to stop its activities but the fund is required by legislation to continue its business of providing finance for clean energy projects under Australia’s carbon price laws.
The CEFC chiefs said the bank, which began investing last July, had a “reasonable expectation” that it would be able to continue until at least July this year and that the board would continue “progressing the business”, The AFR reports.
