Page 269 - Week 01 - Thursday, 27 February 2014
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photovoltaic solar farm to date. Two other farms, with a further 20 megawatts of combined capacity, will, subject to development approval, be completed by mid next year.
These solar facilities will produce enough green power to supply around 10,000 Canberra homes, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 1.4 million tonnes over their operational 20 years. Having three of the largest solar power facilities in Australia is underpinning Canberra’s emergence as an internationally recognised renewable energy innovation and investment hub.
The solar auction process was effective in delivering solar power at the lowest possible cost. Costs to households are expected to peak in 2016 at around 45c per week and decline to around 27c per week. This decline will continue over time.
Today I am pleased to table, as promised and in accordance with section 22(1) of the act, a review of the solar auction process and the government’s response to the recommendations of the review. The review was undertaken independent of government by Sinclair Knight Merz, a national consultancy with specific expertise in energy policy development and review. For the benefit of members, I am pleased to report that the key findings of the review endorsed the solar auction policy design and its applicability to the achievement of the territory’s future investments in large-scale renewable energy.
The solar auction and the design of the supporting legislation are pioneering bodies of work. They overcome many of the pitfalls of other renewable energy support policies implemented in Australia over the past decade. The auction delivered superior outcomes with regard to efficiency, risk assignment and, importantly, delivering large-scale solar energy investments at the lowest possible cost to consumers.
Building on the strengths of the auction, the review identified a number of process improvements and legislation changes that the government is accommodating, as appropriate, in this bill. The bill that I introduce today implements changes to the act recommended by the review and other improvements identified by the government through the solar auction process.
Recognising the strong endorsement of the territory’s legislated feed-in tariff policy mechanism and reverse auction process by the independent solar auction review, the government, through this bill, proposes to extend the capacity of the act for renewable energy generation from 210 to 550 megawatts.
This increase will allow the government to continue its program of investment and enable the full achievement of the ACT’s renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets. Approximately 490 megawatts of large-scale capacity is expected to be deployed between now and 2020 to reach these targets. This investment program continues to be progressed within the framework set out in our climate change strategy, AP2.
The government’s first priority is investment in energy efficiency which can deliver both abatement and substantial costs savings to Canberra homes and businesses. A
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