Power and the Passion: The Hunter is ideally placed to create a low emissions 'green steel' manufacturing industry.

The Grattan Institute's Start with steel: A practical plan to support carbon workers and cut emissions report argues that regions such as the Hunter are ideally placed to become part of a multi-billion dollar export-focused manufacturing sector based on their access to renewable energy.

But the report also highlights the importance of government policy in helping to create a new manufacturing industry based around clean energy.

It found that the Hunter's biggest opportunity was in the production of low-emissions 'green steel', which is made by using renewable energy to extract hydrogen from water and then using the hydrogen to replace coal in the steel-making process.

READ HERE: Power and the passion, a Herald series

Alan Finkel, the federal government's adviser on the research, development, transition, and application of low emissions technology, said while he was optimistic about the potential of new industries to create jobs, he was reluctant to make comparisons with existing industries.

"I'm uncomfortable putting numbers on these predictions because the one thing we know about models is that models are always wrong, but you can learn from the models by doing comparisons," he said.

"I am confident that there will be a lot of new jobs in these emerging industries. Australia is really well positioned, especially when you think about the potential export markets."

Closer to home, the State Government's renewable energy roadmap aims to encourage $32 billion worth of private spending on renewable technology over 20 years.

The government revealed last month that it had received more than $100 billion in private sector interest in the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone.

Much of the manufacturing needed to build the zone will be built in the Hunter.

"Rather than just holding on to business as usual, governments need to be diversifying economies like the Hunter, and positioning them to take advantage of these new opportunities, creating new industries, creating new jobs and creating new ways to grow our prosperity," NSW Treasurer and Energy Minister Matt Kean said.

An economic analysis by economics firm ACIL Allen commissioned by Beyond Zero Emissions and WWF-Australia found a Renewable Energy Industrial Precinct in the Hunter could add $28 billion to the economy and 33,958 ongoing jobs by 2032.

The precincts are clusters of manufacturers powered by 100 per cent renewable energy the gigawatt-scale solar and wind resources located in the Hunter, Orana and New England Renewable Energy Zones.

They would aim to be emissions-free within 10 years.

"Renewable Energy Industrial Precincts will repower Australian manufacturing and make our manufacturers competitive on the global stage," Beyond Zero Emissions chief executive Heidi Lee said.

"The precincts offer an incredible return on investment. More than any other sector, manufacturing delivers innovation, productivity growth and high-quality jobs. Manufacturing has a particularly powerful multiplier effect - the ability to create jobs indirectly - due to manufacturers' reliance on extensive supply chains."

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