This report outlines a package of policy reforms to radically speed up the renewable energy transition in Australia. Importantly, a warp speed approach is not about eliminating regulations and social protections that exist to safeguard communities. The energy transition needs to leave Australian communities stronger and more resilient. The report sets out a responsible pathway to accelerating the economy’s ability to build energy infrastructure, providing opportunities for training and employment, better targeted community engagement, and greater certainty for communities hosting infrastructure projects.

The scale of this challenge demands an ambitious, coordinated, strategic response. An acceleration can only happen if there’s a national imperative – with accountability at the highest levels of government – setting cohesive policies that minimise mixed signals to the economy. The report’s central recommendation is for a ‘warp speed’ energy infrastructure approach to be set as a National Cabinet level priority. 

Key findings

• Despite recent progress, current policy settings do not put Australia on track to meet climate or renewable energy targets. And with the rise of data centres and increasing demands on electrification, Australia's energy needs are only set to grow.
• Australia must increase the rate of new renewable generation by six times, the rate of new transmission by five times, and must build 10 times the entire historical (pre-2025) capacity of utility-scale storage.

The report outlines four key reform areas that are essential to a faster transition, with 24 underlying recommendations:

1. doubling the energy workforce pipeline by expanding training infrastructure, improving cross-border labour mobility, and addressing regional labour shortages through vocational training hubs and skilled migration
2. halving development approval timeframes by using expedited pathways, limiting time and effort for assessments, and standardising assessment requirements 
3. encouraging capital to flow where it is needed most, leveraging public and patient capital to crowd-in private investment for higher-risk, first-mover projects
4. securing supply of key inputs through national multi-year procurement frameworks and support for the onshore manufacturing of critical grid components.