Updated

AGL, Cannon-Brookes vying for $1b in solar manufacturing grants

Angela Macdonald-Smith and Ben Potter

Updated Mar 28, 2024 – 4.03pm, first published at 10.44am

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AGL Energy and a solar technology start-up backed by its biggest investor, Mike Cannon-Brookes, are among parties vying for a share of $1 billion in taxpayer funds intended to kick-start the domestic solar panel industry.

The ASX-listed energy utility and SunDrive, whose investors also include former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, will examine building solar cells in AGL’s Hunter Valley coal heartland, targeting production in 2026.

Angela Macdonald-Smith writes on the resources industry with a focus on energy, including gas, oil, electricity and renewables.

Ben Potter writes on energy, climate change and innovation, and has been Washington correspondent, opinion editor and companies editor.