CANBERRA (Bloomberg) -- Australia’s government will invest A$4.5 billion ($3.4 billion) in the development of infrastructure to generate energy from clean sources such as solar and wind power and to reduce carbon emissions.

The government will invest A$2.4 billion in low-emission coal technologies, including funding of A$2 billion for industrial- scale carbon capture and storage projects, according to its annual budget released in Canberra on Tuesday. The government will invest A$1.6 billion over six years in large-scale solar electricity generation projects, the budget said.
“We are also absolutely determined that our nation-building plans will create the low-pollution economy Australia needs for the future,” Treasurer Wayne Swan said in his budget.
The solar-energy program aims to create an additional 1,000 megawatts of generation capacity, which is similar in scale to a large coal-fired power station. That target is three times the size of the largest solar energy project currently operating anywhere in the world, according to the Australian government.
The government will also establish an organization, called Renewables Australia, which will receive A$465 million over four years to support the development and commercialization of renewable-energy technology.
The government is committed to ensuring 20 percent of Australia’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020, the budget papers said.