Morrison government provides $1b boost to power reliability

The Morrison government's green bank will be given a boost to invest in energy projects aimed at ensuring reliable, clean and more affordable electricity supply for Australians.

The new fund will provide the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) with $1b in new capital to invest in reliable energy generation.

Eligible investments will include energy storage projects including pumped hydro and batteries, remission and distribution infrastructure and grid stabilising technologies.

It also covers the Government's Underwriting New Generation Investments (UNGI) program, which was announced ahead of the May election.

This covers projects such as pumped hydro, batteries and gas.

One of the projects shortlisted for the UNGI program is an upgrade of a coal-fired power station in Lake Macquarie however the government has said that the CEFC cannot be allocated to coal projects, and such projects will not be considered eligible for access to the new funding.

The new money ties in with an investment mandate given to the green bank late last year to focus on grid stabilising technology.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor said it would help to balance the influx of renewable energy projects.

"It is no secret that the National Electricity Market is under pressure - this fund is designed to tackle that," he said in a statement today.

The other shortlisted projects are six pumped hydro power stations and five gas.

Former Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull tweeted this morning saying the funding was a "good call" by the Morison government.

"Worth recalling that it was the Abbott Govt's policy to abolish it and that one of my first decisions in 2015 was to retain it," he said in the Tweet.