RIL signs MoU with Brookfield for renewable power equipment manufacturing

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Brookfield Asset Management to collaborate on renewable energy and decarbonization initiatives in Australia. The primary goal of this partnership is to support Australia's transition to a net-zero future by exploring opportunities for direct capital investment and fostering the development of skills, knowledge, and expertise in the renewable energy sector.

The MoU aims to facilitate Australia's energy transition by enabling local production of clean energy equipment, including PV modules, long-duration battery storage, and components for wind energy. Both Reliance and Brookfield will assess the establishment of advanced operations in Australia for manufacturing or assembling equipment used in renewable energy projects, which will be supplied to various market players, including Origin Energy Markets.

Earlier this year, Brookfield signed a binding agreement with EIG to acquire Origin Energy, and as part of its proposed acquisition, Brookfield, along with institutional partners GIC and Temasek, plans to invest between A$20 billion and A$30 billion over the next decade to accelerate the energy transition.

The MoU with Reliance complements this investment by ensuring a consistent and sufficient supply of clean energy equipment required to develop up to 14 GW of new, large-scale generation and storage capacity in Australia.

According to Luke Edwards, Brookfield Renewable Head of Australia, the country has a rich history of manufacturing and abundant raw materials, but the industry is currently not cost-competitive. The energy transition presents an opportunity to introduce advanced manufacturing processes from offshore, securing the supply of critical equipment and accelerating Australia's emissions reduction efforts, leading to substantial job creation.

Content source: Media reports