Fresh call to save renewable energy agency

The Morrison government has been urged to throw its renewable energy agency a $460 million lifeline in the federal budget before funding runs out.

Left-leaning think tank The Australia Institute's pre-budget submission calls on the coalition to provide a two-year funding extension for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

ARENA is due to run out of money for new projects in the middle of this year.

The Australia Institute argues annual funding of $230 million for 2022/23 and 2023/24 will allow the agency to continue supporting projects.

"ARENA has been essential in bringing down the cost of renewable energy in the last decade but its work is far from finished," the institute's Dan Cass said.

"The next renewable energy challenges for Australia are grid integration, storage and reliability, as well as new export opportunities in green hydrogen and zero-emissions electricity,"

He said Australia needed ARENA to do its fair share on global emissions reductions.

The cost of locking in the agency's long-term future is estimated to be $2.5 billion over 10 years.