Untapped Investment Potential in Australia’s Emerging Renewable Energy Industry

Key Takeaways:

• Australia is at a critical point in it’s road to net zero emissions. With an ambitious interim 2030 target of a 43% reduction below 2005 levels, increases in developments and infrastructure are necessary to reach our stated goals. This represents significant investment opportunities into the emerging renewable energy industry.
• An estimated $1.239 trillion is required for Australia to reach our 2030 interim net zero target. A further 120,000 square kilometres of land is expected to be required to reach 2050 net zero.
• Nationally there is currently 80 renewable energy developments that are being constructed (or due to start soon) with an estimated 12,358 megawatts in energy capacity from $21.2 billion in investment.
• Australia is projected to see a 540% increase in renewable energy capacity and generation from now until 2050.
• Institutions have begun to find value in this emerging market, with a significant amount of merger & acquisition activity being observed. With Australia’s extensive amount of farmland, there is an extensive amount of opportunity for those interested in the financial and social benefits associated with an investment into renewable and green energy to enter the space. 
• With the evolving electric vehicle (EV) market growth in Australia and abroad, service stations are well-poised to seek to benefit from a green transition. With the expectation that average EV charging times may take up to 15 minutes, the evolution of the service station to a one-stop shop with a focus on convenience retail may create investment opportunities in new and existing assets.
• Within Australia’s office sector, a growing interest among occupiers to become more environmentally friendly has resulted in an uptick in new developments prioritising renewable features. CBRE’s prior research shows that these renewable assets exhibit higher occupancy, lower vacancy rates, slightly higher rents and valuation premiums.