Page 2752 - Week 09 - Thursday, 8 August 2013
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The proposal from FRV, which was successful in the fast-track stream of the large-scale solar auction, will contribute to an approximate reduction of 560,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over the 20-year generating life of the project and produce renewable energy equivalent to the power the needs of approximately 4,400 Canberra homes. The development of this facility will support sustainable economic growth in the territory while showing leadership in addressing the challenges presented by a change in climate.
The ACT's large-scale solar auction was developed in the context of action plan 2, the territory’s greenhouse gas reduction strategy. Successful proposals under the large-scale solar auction process will directly contribute to the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets set out in AP2. Actions 12 and 13 of AP2 relate to developing large-scale renewable energy generation to achieve a target of 90 per cent of the territory's electricity consumption being sourced from renewable energy by 2020.
Energy supply emission reductions through the development of renewable energy generating capacity account for 73 per cent of the reductions the territory will need to reach by 2020 to achieve its legislated greenhouse gas reduction targets. This means renewable energy will do the heavy lifting of the territory’s greenhouse gas reduction effort, and developments like FRVs are an important early step in the achievement of this important public policy objective.
AP2 targets approximately 1.5 million tonnes of annual greenhouse gas reductions by 2020 through renewable energy generation. To achieve this, the territory will need to develop approximately 690 megawatts of renewable energy generating capacity. To date we have developed around 32 megawatts of rooftop solar generating capacity and the current large-scale solar auction program will add a further 40 megawatts to this by 2015. Subject to a review of the large-scale solar auction framework that will be completed by the end of this year, the government will undertake more large-scale renewable auctions. While the first auction has focused on solar in the ACT, future auctions may focus on wind and potentially biomass in the Australian capital region as well as solar and other renewable energy sources as they become commercially viable.
When generating by mid-2014, FRV’s solar farm will be the largest photovoltaic solar farm in Australia. The feed-in tariff price of $186 per megawatt hour that will be paid to FRV is significantly lower than the solar industry expected the large-scale solar auction would deliver. Its low price will mean that electricity consumers in the territory will not pay a cent more than they need to achieve significant greenhouse gas abatement through large-scale solar generation. The cost of FRV’s feed-in tariff to electricity consumers will also continue to reduce over time as wholesale electricity prices continue to increase. Reverse feed-in tariff auctions are new to Australia, and FRV’s proposal demonstrates that the auction process can deliver competitive renewable energy generation through a well-designed scheme.
The use of my call-in powers in this instance enables the timely commencement and completion of the proposed solar farm development by FRV. Section 161(2) of the Planning and Development Act 2007 specifies that if I decide an application, I must table a statement in the Assembly not later than three sitting days after the day of the decision.
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