
04Appendices, Glossary and Abbreviations
Glossary and Abbreviations
Glossary
Term |
Description |
---|---|
Australian Industry Participation Plans (AIPP) |
Large-scale projects are required to develop Australian Industry Participation Plans (AIPPs), which help to open proponent purchasing programs to Australian suppliers of goods and services. |
Abatement |
Refers to reductions in CO2-e emissions. |
Aggregation finance |
The provision of CEFC finance via co-finance intermediary partners, to aggregate customer demand that would otherwise be too expensive to be serviced directly by the CEFC. |
Appropriations |
The means by which money from the Treasury is made available to the Australian Government by the Parliament. |
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) |
An Australian Government agency which funds activities that are expected to advance renewable energy technologies towards commercial readiness, improve business models or reduce overall industry costs. |
Black price |
The wholesale electricity price received by an electricity generation facility, excluding the benefit of any renewable energy certificates. |
Clean Energy Finance Corporation Act 2012 (CEFC Act) |
The enabling legislation that creates and empowers the CEFC. |
Clean Energy Innovation Fund |
A new fund drawing on CEFC finance to target a diversified portfolio of Australian-based clean energy investments with a long-term commercial outlook. This includes technologies and businesses that have passed beyond the research and development stage, but are not yet established or of sufficient maturity, size or otherwise commercially ready to attract sufficient private sector capital. Investment proposals are jointly assessed by the CEFC and ARENA, with ARENA providing expert technical review. Final approval is provided by the CEFC Board, which is responsible for all investment commitments made under the CEFC Act. |
Clean energy and clean energy technology |
The types of technology the CEFC is permitted to invest in, which includes “renewable energy technologies”, “energy efficiency technologies” and “low emissions technologies” as defined in the CEFC Act. |
Climate Bonds |
A specific type of green bond issued by the Climate Bond Standards and Certification initiative. |
CO2-e |
Carbon dioxide equivalent is a standard measure that takes account of the different global warming potential of greenhouse gases and expresses the cumulative effect in a common unit (definition from the National Carbon Offset Standard). |
Co-finance partner; co-financed products |
The CEFC’s finance is indirectly provided to end users via a third party, such as a bank or financial institution. The CEFC develops products with co-financiers to leverage their capital and sales networks. These products can be distinguished from a direct CEFC loan where the finance moves directly from the CEFC to the project owner. |
Cogen/cogeneration |
The combined generation of power and useful heat from the same process or source. |
Committed investment |
Where the CEFC has made a commitment to invest funds if all necessary pre-conditions are fulfilled by the counterparties. |
Concession/concessionality |
Concessionality is defined by the Investment Mandate and reflects the mark-to-market valuation of loans committed that financial year. It is measured as the difference between the net present value of each loan’s future cash flows, discounted at market rates, and the net present value of each loan’s future cash flows, discounted at the given concessional rate. |
Cornerstone investor |
Cornerstone investors are usually large institutional investors, or reputable individuals of substance, whose early stage involvement in an investment signals to the market that an opportunity may be worthwhile for other investors to also consider. |
Corporate facility or corporate loan |
Typically, a loan to a company (rather than a specific project) for its smaller-scale projects, or a bundle of projects, often secured against the assets or operations of the corporate entity. |
Dollars ($) |
All references to dollars are Australian dollars unless otherwise specified. |
Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) |
A set of principles that corporations and government entities must report against under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). |
Energy efficiency technologies |
Energy efficiency includes energy conservation and demand management technologies, and enabling technologies that are related to energy efficiency, including supply of goods or services. |
Energy productivity |
Using less energy per unit of production or output. |
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) |
The Australian Government’s central piece of environmental legislation, which provides a legal framework to protect and manage nationally and internationally important flora, fauna, ecological communities and heritage places. |
Equity |
In finance terms, owned capital (such as shares) in a business or enterprise. |
Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (Efic) |
An Australian Government statutory authority that provides finance and support to Australian exporters. |
External benefits |
Benefits that are enjoyed by parties outside a transaction e.g. emissions reduction that benefits the environment |
Forecast lifetime yield |
The annualised weighted average of forecast income on outstanding principal balance over the life of the investment. |
Fringe-of-grid |
Areas at the edges of an electricity grid. |
Government Policy Order |
An instrument to direct government entities made under the PGPA Act. |
Green bonds |
A generic term for bonds used to finance projects with a positive environmental outcome. |
Green Investment Bank (GIB) |
A public company owned by the UK Government and charged with accelerating the UK’s transition to a greener, stronger economy. |
Green price |
The price for renewable energy certificates (RECs) that are created and sold by electricity generation facilities registered as accredited renewable energy facilities under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. Renewable energy facilities typically benefit from both the “black price” and the “green price” for each megawatt hour of electricity generated. |
Greenhouse gases |
The six Kyoto Protocol classes of greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2-e), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). |
Heliostat |
A mirror or polished surface used in concentrating and directing sunlight to optimise generation capacity. |
Hybrid technology |
As defined by the CEFC Board, a combination of technologies that integrate a renewable energy generation technology with other technologies into a combined system. |
Investment Mandate |
A formal Ministerial Direction made under the CEFC Act which specifies conditions under which the CEFC may perform its investment function. |
Large-scale |
In reference to renewables, a power station large enough to earn certificates under the LRET (i.e. above 100kW for Solar PV). |
Large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) |
Tradable certificates created under Section 17 of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. One LGC is equivalent to 1MWh (megawatt hour) of eligible renewable electricity produced by an accredited renewable power station above its baseline. |
Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) |
The LRET creates a financial incentive for the establishment or expansion of renewable energy power stations, such as wind, solar farms and hydro-electric power stations. It does this by legislating demand for Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs). One LGC can be created for each megawatt-hour of eligible renewable electricity produced by an accredited renewable power station. |
Lifetime abatement |
The estimated amount of abated emissions over a project’s useful life. |
Limited recourse |
Means that the right to compensation or recourse of the financier is limited to the assets that are the subject of the finance. |
Low emissions technology |
Low emissions technologies may be applied to a number of activities including but not limited to: a) energy production b) electricity generation including the use of non-renewable, fossil fuels c) fuels for and modes of transportation d) using, reducing, or eliminating existing fugitive greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to meeting the above criteria, the Board requires that at the time of CEFC investment, the low emissions technology must result in emissions of CO2-e being substantially lower than the current average of the most relevant baseline for the activity being undertaken. |
Merchant basis |
In respect of renewable energy generation, energy sold onto the spot market without the benefit of a fixed price power purchase agreement where the price received is the prevailing market price at the time of sale. |
National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) |
A national ratings system that measures the environmental performance of a building or tenancy including energy efficiency, water usage, waste management and indoor environment quality. |
Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) |
A national star rating system (out of 10) that rates the energy efficiency of a home, based on its design. |
National Electricity Market (NEM) |
A regulated electricity trading market that interconnects the electricity grids of the states and territories of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. |
Off-grid |
Not connected to the electricity grid, such as in remote areas. |
Offtake agreement |
An agreement between a producer (of energy or crops) and a purchaser to purchase production output for a defined period at a defined price. |
Photovoltaic (PV) |
A type of technology that converts energy from the sun into electricity, as in solar PV. |
Portfolio Benchmark Return (PBR) |
A long-term target rate of return established by the CEFC Investment Mandate, against which the performance of the portfolio invested by the Corporation is measured. |
Positive externalities |
Benefits which are not exclusive to parties to a contract, such as an investment contract. May include reduced carbon emissions which benefit society as a whole. It is a requirement of the CEFC Investment Mandate that positive externalities be considered when the CEFC makes investment decisions. |
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) |
A type of offtake agreement where a purchaser agrees to purchase and a supplier agrees to supply future generated electricity, usually at a specified price for a defined period. |
Project finance |
Long-term financing of infrastructure and industrial projects (such as a utility-scale generator or an onsite generation facility) which will be repaid from the projected cash flows of the project without recourse to the balance sheets of the sponsors. |
Project proponents |
The ‘proposers’ or owners of a given project, as distinct from the project financiers. |
Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) |
An Act about the governance, performance and accountability of, and the use and management of public resources by, the Commonwealth, Commonwealth entities and Commonwealth companies, and for related purposes. |
Refinancing |
Repayment of an existing loan with a new loan. |
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) |
A generic term for tradeable certificates under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. |
Renewable Energy Target (RET) |
A target for the production of electricity from renewable energy sources under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. Made up of the small-scale renewables scheme (SRES) and the large-scale target (LRET). |
Renewable energy technologies |
Clean energy technologies that fit within the definition of “renewable energy technologies” under the CEFC Act, and can include hybrids that integrate renewable energy technologies, and technologies that are related to renewable technologies, including enabling technologies. |
Roll-off |
Investment amounts that exit the portfolio (e.g. by sale, repayment, cancellation of all or part of the facility, reduction in quantum borrowed etc.). |
Senior debt |
Debt that takes priority in repayment over other unsecured or more junior debt. |
Single-axis tracking |
A type of PV array that rotates a panel around a single axis to track the sun’s movement across the horizon, optimising generation capacity. |
Special Account |
A type of Australian Government account in which funds are held for a specified purpose. The CEFC Act creates a Special Account in order to fund the CEFC |
Subordinated debt |
Where two or more financiers are involved in offering finance, one may take a “subordinated” or “junior debt” position relevant to the other (“senior debt”) in the event of a loss (i.e. one financier may rank after the other financier in priority for recovery in the event the finance recipient becomes insolvent and cannot repay the loan). |
tCO2-e |
Tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas. |
Tenor |
Length or term of a loan. |
Total Annual Remuneration Package (TARP) |
Total remunerative benefits for staff including salary, superannuation and any other benefits. |
Trigeneration |
A system of generating power, heating and cooling from the same process or source. A trigeneration system is identical to a cogeneration system with the addition of the cooling element. |
Table of Abbreviations
Abbreviation |
Full Name |
---|---|
AAO |
Administrative Arrangements Orders |
AAS |
Australian Accounting Standards |
AASB |
Australian Accounting Standards Board |
AIPP |
Australian Industry Participation Plans |
AML/CTF Act |
Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 |
ANAO |
Australian National Audit Office |
ARENA |
Australian Renewable Energy Agency |
ASX |
Australian Securities Exchange |
BNEF |
Bloomberg New Energy Finance |
CCS |
Carbon Capture and Storage |
CEFC |
Clean Energy Finance Corporation |
CEFC Act |
Clean Energy Finance Corporation Act 2012 |
CO-2 |
Carbon Dioxide |
CSIRO |
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation |
CSP |
Concentrated Solar Power |
EAP |
Employee Assistance Program |
EEO Act |
Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987 |
Efic |
Export Finance and Insurance Corporation |
EPBC Act |
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 |
ERF |
Emissions Reduction Fund |
ESD |
Ecologically Sustainable Development |
ESG |
Environmental, Social and Governance |
FBT |
Fringe Benefits Tax |
FOI Act |
Freedom of Information Act 1982 |
FRR |
Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (Financial Reporting) Rule 2015 |
FTE |
Full-time equivalent |
FVPL |
Financial assets at fair value through profit and loss |
GGS |
General Government Sector |
GHG |
Greenhouse gases |
GIB |
Green Investment Bank |
GPO |
Government Policy Order |
GST |
Goods and Services Tax |
GW |
Gigawatt |
GWh |
Gigawatt hour |
HTM |
Held to maturity |
IPS |
Information Publication Scheme |
JCPAA |
Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit |
KPI |
Key Performance Indicators |
kW |
Kilowatt |
kWh |
Kilowatt hour |
LED |
Light emitting diode |
LGC |
Large-scale generation certificate |
LRET |
Large-scale Renewable Energy Target |
MJ |
Megajoule |
MP |
Member of Parliament |
MW |
Megawatt |
MWh |
Megawatt hour |
NABERS |
National Australian Built Environment Rating System |
NatHERS |
Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme |
NEM |
National Electricity Market |
NGO |
Non-Governmental Organisation |
PBO |
Parliamentary Budget Office |
PBR |
Portfolio Benchmark Return |
PBS |
Portfolio Budget Statement |
PGPA Act |
Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 |
PID Act |
Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 |
PPA |
Power Purchase Agreement |
PPP |
Public Private Partnership |
PV |
Photovoltaic |
RECs |
Renewable Energy Certificates |
REEP |
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership |
RET |
Renewable Energy Target |
SRES |
Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme |
TARP |
Total Annual Remuneration Package |
WHS Act |
Work, Health and Safety Act 2011 |