News: Australia state to invest $630 mln to ramp up renewable energy transition

SYDNEY, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Australia's Victoria state said on Thursday it would invest an initial A$1 billion ($630 million) to help accelerate its energy transition to renewable power and support the switch of households away from natural gas for heating and cooking.

The move follows the Victoria government's decision in July to ban natural gas connections to new homes from next year. The gas sector contributes 17% of emissions in the state, which has ambitious plans to reach net zero emissions by 2045, five years ahead of the federal government.

The investment will generate 4.5 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable energy, enough to power about 1.5 million homes in Australia's second-most populous state.

"We'll invest in government-owned renewable energy, help households switch to all-electric and build the renewables workforce Victoria needs," state Premier Jacinta Allan said.

Victoria is the country's largest consumer of natural gas with around 80% of homes connected but new homes requiring planning permits must connect to all-electric networks from January 2024.

The fresh investment will focus on increasing storage and onshore generation, and building industry confidence to attract further investment, Allan said. It will help accelerate efforts to shift to 100% renewable energy in every government office in the state by 2025, she said.

($1 = 1.5893 Australian dollars)