All wind towers currently installed in Australia are imported. This report argues that the wind energy sector is an ideal application of the federal government’s Future Made in Australia policy and describes how domestic manufacturing could create quality ongoing jobs, reduce emissions and add billions in value to the economy. 

Findings

• Domestic manufacturing would create 4,350 ongoing jobs in wind tower manufacturing, and thousands more in input industries, especially steel.
• The potential output is over 800 towers per year, with cumulative value of up to $15 billion over the next 17 years.
• Manufacturing would add incremental demand for up to 700,000 tonnes of Australian-made steel per year, creating a foundation for the recapitalization of Australian steel plants with carbon-free technologies.
• Local manufacturing would avoid 2.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions as a result of reduced sea shipping of imported wind towers.

Recommendations

1. The federal government in co-operation with state governments and industry should commission an engineering and financial study to establish competitive tower manufacturing on the east coast of Australia.
2. State and federal government local content plans should prescribe domestic content in procurement of wind energy equipment.
3. A public-private planning authority should be established to strengthen the link between investments in renewable energy supply and parallel investments in green steel production, using steady demand for wind tower manufacturing to validate investments in decarbonised steel production.
4. The Scope 3 emissions embodied in imported towers (both in offshore manufacturing and then shipping of those towers to Australia) should be fully reflected in decisions regarding sourcing.