Renewable energy investment drives capex growth: ABS
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The news: Spending on renewable energy infrastructure in the electricity, gas, water and waste services industry climbed 17.5% in the December quarter, according to new Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.
The numbers: In total, private new capital expenditure (capex) rose 0.8% in the quarter, seasonally adjusted, gaining 7.9% compared to a year earlier.
Electricity, gas, water, and waste services saw the largest rise of any industry, up 14.7% while capex grew 1.5% for new buildings and structures. Both segments were driven by increased spending on renewable energy infrastructure.
Elsewhere, ongoing investment in data centres led to a strong rise in capex for the information media and telecommunications industry, which climbed 6.5%.
While new investment in equipment and machinery capex was relatively flat during the quarter, it was up 6.4% compared to the December quarter 2022, owing to strong growth in vehicles, particularly in the construction industry.
Overall, mining business investment grew 1.1%, while the non-mining segment was up 0.6%. Queensland had the largest rise of the states and territories, up 9.3% in the December quarter, while South Australia saw a 17.4% fall.
The context: The ABS also released its first estimate for planned capex for 2024-25, which was up 12.6% on the first estimate for 2023-24.
ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing said that the rise in planned capital investment shows that businesses expected continued growth in new capital expenditure for the next financial year.
The information media and telecommunications industry predict a large rise, based on planned investment in new data centres, while the electricity, gas, water, and waste services industry also expect major growth from further investment in renewable energy infrastructure.
The source: ABS release
