The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, will visit Geelong today and meet with a group of renewable energy executives who are delivering projects worth billions of dollars in local capital investment.

Mr Combet will be a guest at the first roundtable meeting of the local renewable energy business sector, following the announcement of the Gillard Labor Government’s Clean Energy Future plan.

Mr Combet said the Federal Government’s plan to put a price on pollution will drive further investment in clean energy.

“Last Sunday, as part of our Clean Energy Future package, the Government announced a new $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation. This new body will help drive the necessary investment in renewables, as well as drive innovation through commercial investment in clean energy through loans, loan guarantees and equity investment,” Mr Combet said.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to meet with the local executives who are already taking initiative and are out there investing in renewables.”

Federal MP, Darren Cheeseman, said South West Victoria was at the centre of Australia clean energy future, and the early meeting with the Minister and the local renewable energy business sector demonstrated the importance of the region to this industry nationally.

“We have a group of executives meeting with the Minister who are jointly investing well in excess of three billion dollars in this region. Just one company is creating over 800 construction jobs, and eighty ongoing trades maintenance jobs and this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Mr Cheeseman said.

“No other new industry promises so much in terms of building and construction and research jobs. We are right at the centre of Australia’s clean energy future with a huge wind energy corridor above ground and a massive geothermal energy source below ground.”

Attendees include:

• Greenearth Energy
• Union Fenosa
• West Wind Energy
• Acciona Energy

The three major wind energy companies represented at the meeting are investing a total of $3.7 billion in wind energy, with power generation capable of powering over 900,000 homes. The representatives will release more details of their investment plans at the meeting and provide reaction to the Government’s Clean Energy Future plan.