Tamworth-based company Efficacy Advisors welcomes federal budget 23-24 investment in renewables

Project developer Joel Gribble reached a certain age and decided he wanted to make a difference. He left his retail business after 25 years and retrained in renewable energy.

While most big renewable firms are in cities, the company has found success in having a regional presence.

"We find with people we deal with that they don't quite have the same understanding or communication if they're from the city, as opposed if you're living and breathing country or regional life," Mr Gribble said.

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In the federal government's budget, billions of dollars have been committed to developing the clean energy industry, and Australia is being positioned to become a world leading hydrogen producer.

It's a "good start", Mr Gribble said.

"It's a lot more than just the dollars," he said.

"It's the intent that we're going to move forward with renewables, and move away from the arguing that's gone on in the past."

But Australia is behind the eight-ball, with the previous government "reluctant" to get on board, he said.

To hit the target to turn the energy grid 82 per cent renewable by 2030, Mr Gribble said the current roll out of projects must double every year.

NSW has "challenging" approval processes, Mr Gribble said, and Efficacy Advisors has spent about two years seeking approval through studies for a solar project and wind project.

Another challenge is grid connection, he said, if projects are doubled as required, the manpower or expertise to connect that many projects may not keep up.

The budget delivers a $4.2 billion surplus, and part of the reason behind it is that the price of coal and natural gas exports skyrocketed after Russia invaded Ukraine.

If it weren't for coal exports, there wouldn't be a surplus, New England MP Barnaby Joyce told the Leader, criticising the government for turning its back on mining industry profits.

"How are you thanking [regional Australians] for this by putting new wind factories all over our landscape and transmission lines all over our countryside? How's that saying thank you to us?" he said.

There are opportunities to cash in with the renewable energy industry, Mr Gribble said, especially because there are countries such as Japan, that don't have Australia's wealth of space, wind and solar resources.

It also has benefits for local communities, he said, with the Bendemeer project community contribution fund offering hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

"It's a pretty small community, and it decides where that's spent," he said.

Efficacy Advisors partners with Vesi Water, a Tamworth-based "revolution" in water supply creating water from humidity.

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