The Australia Institute Media Release
Australia could create more than 4300 quality direct jobs by making its own wind towers instead of importing them, according to new research by the Centre for Future Work.
At present, all wind towers installed in Australia are imported from overseas with most coming from China.
Centre for Future Work’s research found a domestic wind energy sector would generate:
- 4,350 ongoing jobs in wind tower manufacturing, and thousands more in input industries, especially steel
- Output of over 800 towers per year, with cumulative value of up to $15 billion over the next 17 years
- 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
- Avoiding 2.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions thanks to reduced sea shipping of imported wind towers
Wind energy manufacturing represents a prime opportunity to apply the new policy tools of the federal government’s Future Made in Australia manufacturing strategy.
The report recommends the federal government, in partnership with state counterparts, commission an engineering and financial study into an east coast domestic wind manufacturing industry.
Report author Professor Phil Toner, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at University of Sydney, said:
“It’s conventional in traditional economic circles to say Australia should stick to its so-called ‘comparative advantage’, in determining its role in the emerging net-zero global economy.
“But if we follow the advice of conventional economists we will lock Australia into once again being just a supplier of raw resources to other, more technologically sophisticated countries.
“These countries will purchase Australian resources at the going global rate, transform them into innovative and expensive products, and then sell them back to us at premium prices.
“With all the opportunities of a net-zero global economy, do we really just want to replace traditional mineral exports like coal with new generations of unprocessed minerals like lithium and rare earths?
“Manufacturing our own wind power equipment represents an enormous opportunity for Australia to attain a more balanced industrial structure and create good quality well paid jobs.
“Most other industrial countries are investing aggressively in manufacturing the new equipment and products that will be in demand as the energy transition continues. Australia needs similar policy activism to maximise the industrial, technological and employment potential of the energy transition.
“Anyone concerned about the climate should be up in arms at the fact we’re importing huge heavy steel towers from China when we could be producing them here, which would provide fantastic opportunities for our burgeoning green steel sector.”
[textblock style=”7″]
Like what we do at The AIMN?
You’ll like it even more knowing that your donation will help us to keep up the good fight.
Chuck in a few bucks and see just how far it goes!
Your contribution to help with the running costs of this site will be gratefully accepted.
You can donate through PayPal or credit card via the button below, or donate via bank transfer: BSB: 062500; A/c no: 10495969
[/textblock]
Nah, makes too much sense,we’d never do that here,you no fool us.Far better to talk about outrageous nuclear power…just ask truncheon head.
Cue the naysayers. Australia is not a manufacturing country as so many previous governments have set out to prove by ensuring what industry we did have was made uneconomical or off-shored. Let’s see if a timid Labor government is willing to put its money where its mouth is.
No special nay or yea saying here, but, Australia has some of the best iron ore and coal deposits for applied purposes, in the world (I used to teach this half a century ago), but they were well apart, our development was patchy, our costs and competitiveness were dodgy. our track record has been submediocre and we now produce little and have shrinking skills in a pool of potential for anything. So what went wrong in a nation of real promise, with a Snowy scheme done well and plenty of admirable achievements? Why?
Oz does research well and always fumbles on the benefitting from it.
Not sure if it is economic to start building low tech wind towers as a way of employing un/semi-skilled workers, yet ignores previous issues of mining etc. project starts competing for skilled workers, but in short supply?
Our working age cohort has been stagnating since 2009 as the boomer ‘bomb’ oin oldies in &/or transition to retirement; kept up on paper by temporary NOM churn ie. international students with restricted part time employment rights.
One would suggest that imports of towers or the ‘hardware’ can be done elsewhere more competitively with embedded expertise already vs. locally focusing on ‘software’ including innovation or specialisation, maintenance, distribution or transmission etc.
I am reminded that a Danish wind generator corporation set up in Victoria withdrew from Australia because the then COALition misgovernment refused to make any decisions, sensible or otherwise, about wind farms.
Nothing like nine (9) years of COALition maladministration, corruption & misgovernment to slow down an otherwise dynamic economy that is being exploited by foreign owned multinational corporations that pay little/no taxation on the profits, thanks to the present generous provisions of the Taxation Act.
And no thanks to our Labor government that left their balls in a vault somewhere,Cocky.