Ask your MP to save ARENA!

ARENA has completed more than 60 projects across Australia and is currently managing 200 more. 70% of its funding has been invested in rural and regional electorates.

ARENA plays a critical role in finding solutions to emerging challenges, as evidenced by its support for solar thermal projects, and proposed projects such as the world's largest battery storage virtual power plant in South Australia, which addresses issues around grid stability and power price volatility.

Without ARENA, these projects and many others would struggle to receive funding. ARENA funding is vital for the renewable energy sector.

There is no wrong way to do it, but here's some helpful hints to give you a sense of how your call will go and some of the things you might like to say.

• Ring ring - A staffer will answer the phone. If you don't get through straight away, wait a moment and then try again.
• Introduce yourself - Who you are? Where you live? What do you do?
• Explain the reason for your call - Tell the staffer that you're worried about the Turnbull Government gutting Australia's Renewable Energy Agency, putting clean jobs at risk, and holding back action on climate change and renewables investment.
• Share your story - Explain why you are concerned about this. If you have a personal story to share then please share that too. It's great to mention if an ARENA-funded project has brought benefits to your community.
• Ask for a committment - Ask the staffer if their office will commit to not supporting cuts to ARENA. They may or may not commit, but this will send a clear message that you're serious about holding them to account.
• Say thanks! - Thank them for taking the time to listen to you, and ask them to please pass your message onto the Minister.

Remember to be polite!

ARENA has funded hundreds of exciting research projects and large-scale renewable energy projects across Australia. If you're in the ACT you might want to mention one of the exciting projects listed below when you're telling your MP why you want them to save ARENA.

In the ACT ARENA has provided:

$445,000 to Resposit Power to develop their GridCredits system, allowing households with solar and storage to benefit from selling power back to the grid during times of high wholesale prices.

$25.3 million to support solar research at the Australian National University.

ARENA has funded hundreds of exciting research projects and large-scale renewable energy projects across Australia. If you're in Victoria you might want to mention one of the exciting projects listed below when you're telling your MP why you want them to save ARENA.

In Victoria ARENA has provided:

$11 million for the BioPower Ocean generator pilot project, allowing us to tap into our wave resources.

$4.65 million for demonstration of RayGen Resources' concentrating solar PV plant, which has attracted significant interest from Chinese companies.

$1.76 million into research for "printable" solar cells developed by the University of Melbourne and the CSIRO.

ARENA has funded hundreds of exciting research projects and large-scale renewable energy projects across Australia. If you're in NSW you might want to mention one of the exciting projects listed below when you're telling your MP why you want them to save ARENA.

In NSW ARENA has provided:

$268.4 million for Large Scale solar projects in Nyngan, Broken Hill and Moree.

A $35.9 million grant to the Australia-US Institute for Advanced Solar Photovoltaics, based at the University of NSW, supporting $91.3 million for Australia's leading research in solar photovoltaics, including development of the 'PERC solar cell', which is expected to gain 50% of the solar PV market by 2020 and push the cost of solar even lower.

ARENA has funded hundreds of exciting research projects and large-scale renewable energy projects across Australia. If you're in SA you might want to mention one of the exciting projects listed below when you're telling your MP why you want them to save ARENA.

ARENA projects in South Australia include:

Advancing Established and Integrated Marine Microalgae Biofuel to Commercialisation: developed a commercially viable technology called Green2Black which converts organic feedstocks to biofuel oil. ARENA funding: $4,398,000, total project value: $10,738,000.

Coober Pedy Renewable Diesel Hybrid project: will combine wind, solar and battery power to provide the town with up to 70% renewable energy by 2018. ARENA funding: $18,400,000, total project value: $36,500,000.

Cooper Basin Enhanced Geothermal Systems Heat and Power Development: pilot project which successfully used enhanced geothermal power to use water pumped through hot granite rocks to drive turbines and produce electricity. ARENA funding: $32,750,000, total project value: $144,220,000.

Port Augusta Solar Thermal Feasibility Study: found that a 50MW solar thermal plant near Port Augusta is technically feasible and capable of harbouring many hours of storage. It could provide a steady flow of power throughout the night and during cloudy periods. ARENA funding: $1,000,000, total project value: $2,300,000.

Kingfisher Solar Project: an advanced combined solar and battery storage plant that will be connected to the grid. 100MW of solar PV and 20-40MWh battery storage will deliver reliable power. Slated to start operating in 2017. Currently being assessed by ARENA for funding.

ARENA has funded hundreds of exciting research projects and large-scale renewable energy projects across Australia. If you're in WA you might want to mention one of the exciting projects listed below when you're telling your MP why you want them to save ARENA.

In WA ARENA has provided:

$26.1 million for investment in Carnegie Wave Energy system, successfully demonstrating the operation of the technology and attracting export interest across Pacific states and the UK.

$2.3 million in the Karratha Airport Solar Farm (by SunEdison Australia), which includes cloud-predictive technology, to pro-actively manage and maintain grid-stability during periods of variable generation.

ARENA has 10 large-scale solar projects planned for Queensland, which will create around 2,600 jobs. Gutting ARENA puts those jobs at risk. ARENA have also provided:

$22.8 million to support the Barcaldine Remote Community Solar Farm by Elecnor Australia.

$17.4 million for the Lakeland solar and storage project.

$34.9 million for the Kogan Creek Solar Boost project.

ARENA has funded hundreds of exciting research projects and large-scale renewable energy projects across Australia. If you're in Tasmania you might want to mention one of the exciting projects listed below when you're telling your MP why you want them to save ARENA.

In Tasmania ARENA has provided:

$6 million for investment to transition King Island to 65% renewable energy by Hydro Tasmania.

$2.9 million for research based on Bruny Island to help residential battery storage to provide support services to constrained networks.

$5.5 million for the Flinders Island Hybrid Energy Hub.

ARENA has funded hundreds of exciting research projects and large-scale renewable energy projects across Australia. If you're in the Northern Territory you might want to mention one of the exciting projects listed below when you're telling your MP why you want them to save ARENA.

In the Northern Territory ARENA has provided:

$25.5 million for investment in the Northern Territory Solar Energy Transformation Program, installing solar energy across more than 30 remote communities in the NT.

$452,000 for developing the Fulcrum 3D cloud predictive technology, greatly improving the performance of cloud prediction technologies.