Page 1609 - Week 05 - Thursday, 5 May 2016
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Obviously the issue with renewables has always been intermittency: the ons and offs of generation associated with wind and solar. Of course, batteries address that problem because they provide for that energy to be stored and then to be deployed as needed either to meet demand or, indeed, to sell back into the grid past the meter. These are very important shifts. Already we have seen this approach draw real success for our city with over $400 million worth of investment so far in our economy. (Time expired.)
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Ms Burch.
MS BURCH: Minister, can you outline to the Assembly the benefits to the ACT economy available from the rollout of battery storage and other renewable energy projects?
MR CORBELL: I thank Ms Burch for her supplementary. There are two key benefits. The first is that we are avoiding costs that would otherwise be passed on to consumers by the need to upgrade and expand the electricity network. The government has identified that by supporting 36 megawatts of battery storage in homes and businesses across the ACT, we are avoiding the need to upgrade our electricity network to the tune of somewhere between $62 million and $220 million.
The costs associated with expanding the electricity network in a conventional way are, of course, passed through to electricity consumers. To the extent that we can avoid those costs, we are helping to reduce costs to electricity consumers. So that is a real benefit to consumers and to the ACT economy.
But the other benefit that comes from this initiative is the investment we are making in growing innovation and growing businesses right here in Canberra. There is a broad range of Canberra-based companies engaged in this space already. ITPÂ Renewables, SolarHub and ActewAGL are all Canberra-based companies, all of whom were successful in the first round. But there are others that are also partnered with some of those winning bidders. For example, Reposit Power is a very important Canberra-based start up selling proprietary software in the battery storage and renewable energy space. They are also benefiting from this investment.
If we talk about diversifying the economy, if we talk about supporting start up and innovation, the renewable energy sector is critically important. This has been recognised not just by the government but by organisations like the Canberra Business Chamber who now have it as one of their key priority areas for industry support and development. Those are the benefits that accrue from these policies. They are not just environmental but also economic.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Wall.
MR WALL: Minister, what impact will paying an additional $300 per year per household as a result of your government’s energy renewable target have on Canberrans struggling to make ends meet?
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