Energy Minister Chris Bowen is throwing “pennies” at problems that never should have existed with his announcement of a $30 million investment in renewables to strengthen Australia’s electricity grid.

The Grid Enhancing Technologies (GET) Grant Program, totalling $30 million in competitive grants across 14 projects, seeks to create a cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable electricity grid.

Mr Bowen said the grant would aim to ease pressure on energy bills while building a “resilient” electricity grid.

“The Grid Enhancing Technologies grants will support more renewables in the system, put downward pressure on energy bills, and build a stronger, more resilient grid,” he said.

However, Energy Program Director at the Centre of Independent Studies Aidan Morrison told SkyNews.com.au the Albanese government’s investment in the grants program was akin to throwing “pennies after problems” that “were never meant to be problems to begin with.”

“In theory there’s nothing wrong with the government giving out a few million in early-stage innovation grants to fledgling technologies,” he said.

“What’s worrying is that we’re still at the early stage of testing new ideas to solve critical problems which have completely stalled the energy transition.

“The plans that were written when we committed to the path to ramp up renewables and electrification essentially assumed they (the problems) were already solved.”

The investment will focus on providing grid operators with better tools to move electricity around the network and on coordinating large-scale batteries to reduce network pressure, among other solutions.

Mr Morrison said the solutions Labor was providing were based on a “list of failed assumptions”, before noting how the government had turned plans into problems.

“The list of issues that the grants are designed to address read like a list of failed assumptions that were baked into the government’s blueprints from 2022,” he said.

“‘Using EVs as batteries to help power homes and support the grid when electricity demand is high’ is one objective.

“This is one of the noteworthy, failed assumptions from the Integrated System Plan’s projections in 2022, where it was assumed car owners would soon allow their batteries to be drained on demand to support the grid. 

“Can this be solved? Maybe. But our plans essentially assumed it wasn’t going to be a problem.”

Mr Morrison said providing better tools to grid operators in moving electricity around the network was “blatant double spending”.

“In NSW, TransGrid has been in the process of planning such a procurement of exactly this type of system upgrade for years and is the final stages of getting regulatory approval for $163.5 million of funding for this,” he said.

“Another few million granted to an innovative trial project is a drop in the ocean, and certainly too late to help.”