Page 270 - Week 01 - Thursday, 27 February 2014
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blend of renewable energy generation sources will be pursued towards a 90 per cent renewable energy target with the majority of this being wind power outside the ACT as the lowest cost form of generation currently available. The government will ensure that this results in additional renewable energy generation above and beyond the national renewable energy targets.
Due to demonstrated industry cost reductions and changing market conditions, the cost of achieving the 90 per cent renewable energy target is now estimated to peak in 2020, six years from now, at around $4 a week for the average Canberra household. That is, about the price of a cup of coffee a week for more than halving our greenhouse gas emissions from current levels and transitioning to cleaner electricity generation sources. These costs would be reduced by the presence of a price on carbon.
In recognition of the significant local economic benefits associated with renewable energy development, AP2 foreshadowed that a priority order for investment would be adopted by the government that would preference local investment over more remote generation developments. However, it is important to also recognise that we exist within an interconnected national electricity supply system. The territory does not have a monopoly on sunshine or wind and while we have access to exceptional solar and wind resources in our region, in some cases there are even better resources further afield.
Creating a geographically broad-based competition under future renewable energy auction processes can benefit the territory through reduced costs and greater innovation. Importantly, this does not have to be at the expense of local economic development benefits and returns to local businesses. Local jobs can still be created through design, IT and other corporate functions, warehousing and logistics and through returns on locally developed intellectual property that can be managed at a distance from the actual generating site.
The bill amends the act to provide for this broader competition while ensuring that local economic development benefits are maximised. This is achieved by requiring that, before a generator located outside the Australian capital region can be granted a feed-in tariff entitlement, the responsible minister must be satisfied that its proposal offers both exceptional economic development benefits to ACT renewable energy industries and minimises costs to the territory’s electricity consumers. This ensures that investing further afield will not be at the expense of local jobs.
Further, it is proposed that in future capacity releases all proposals must compete on the basis of the returns they can provide to local industry. This may be in the form of using local contractors, setting up local offices or investing in research partnerships in our academic research institutions or in our trades training capacity.
Mindful of the potential impact and benefits for local communities, the government proposes that all future proposals will be asked to demonstrate effective community engagement processes and outcomes drawing on best practice models from around Australia and the world.
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