A $350 million initiative to lead the energy grid away from fossil fuel, promote renewable energy and cut carbon emissions, including a new electric vehicle strategy, is being launched by the Morrison government.

While the government plans to fund a $4 million investigation of the economic case for a new coal-fired power station in north Queensland, and Coalition MPs push for nuclear power, Industry, Science and Technology Minister Karen Andrews announced on Sunday $68.5 million to create the Reliable Affordable Clean Energy for 2030 Co-operative Research Centre (RACE for 2030).

Rooftop solar continues to grow and is forecast to generate 25 per cent of energy consumed by 2040. But new policies, infrastructure and power metering are needed. Credit:Bradley Kanaris

Working with private industry, RACE for 2030 will fund research into a "distributed grid"; a national strategy for charging stations required under the forecast growth in electric vehicles; harnessing rooftop solar and paying householders for their energy; and trial community scale micro-electricity grids.

A distributed energy grid could reduce reliance on base-load power and draw not only from large-scale utility plants, but from smaller sources such as rooftop solar on businesses right down to the household level, making use of smart technologies.