Page 434 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 18 March 2014
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into energy generation, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with landfill emission and at the same time improving our resource recovery rate.
Waste to energy technologies are commonplace in Europe and in the United States, but not particularly common in Australia. The technology is proven and demonstrated in other places around the world, and the government is keen to facilitate that type of investment in these types of technologies here in the ACT. The government will proceed with an expression of interest process to the market in 2015 which will help inform our final decision-making on how we will structure an auction to support waste to energy projects. It is just another part of the government’s comprehensive program to make the shift to a more renewable future, to reduce the amount of waste that is going to landfill, to reduce the carbon intensity of the city’s electricity emissions, to generate investment and excellence in the renewable energy industry in our city, and create jobs and a more sustainable Canberra for the future.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Lawder.
MS LAWDER: Minister, why, given the economic benefits of wind farms you touted, is the ACT government pursuing more solar farms?
MR CORBELL: Each has economic benefits. It is not an exclusive either-or proposition. Both technologies have the capacity to make significant contributions to our abatement. As I said in my earlier answer, and I reiterate it, the fact is—
Mr Coe interjecting—
MR CORBELL: That is not what I was asked.
Mr Coe interjecting—
MR CORBELL: That is not what I was asked, Mr Coe. You should remind Ms Lawder about how she needs to structure her questions.
There are economic opportunities associated with both technologies. Let us look at the ANU. The ANU is a world leader in solar thermal and solar storage—and certain aspects of PV development. It is a world leader. We want to see companies investing in these technologies at scale—commercially deployed at scale here in the ACT. As part of our local employment investment framework, which will be a criterion used for future auctions for solar and for wind, we will expect to see how proponents demonstrate that they will either support investment in research in our institutions—partly with our institutions like the ANU or the CSIRO—or invest in the local economy in a sustained way in other ways.
Let me give you an example. Right now, one of our proponents for one of the approved feed-in tariff allocations at Mugga Lane, the Chinese company Zhenfa, is making financial commitments to support research in the ANU right now. That is a direct result of their coming to Canberra because of the government’s reverse auction process. It is a great example of how new investment can come into our city, support our research institutions—(Time expired.)
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