Page 2566 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 9 August 2016
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It is my pleasure to reaffirm the ACT government’s commitment to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2020. The changes to the Electricity Feed-In (Large Scale Renewable Generation) Act 2011 have increased the renewable capacity limit from 550 megawatts to 650 megawatts to enable the ACT to achieve the 100 per cent renewable energy target. We will do this within the next four years.
The widely acclaimed solar and wind auction processes undertaken by this government have delivered not only some of the cheapest rates for renewable energy achieved in the country, but also wider-ranging economic benefits for the territory. Such was the competitiveness of prices obtained for the renewable energy that the ACT is currently in a situation where the market price is higher than the feed-in tariff, meaning the difference is paid to ActewAGL and will be passed through to the community in lower electricity prices.
This is a great outcome for the territory and proof of the long-term value of renewable energy. The auction process has also attracted some of the biggest and most innovative companies in renewable technologies to base their operations in Canberra. On top of this, the process has also created the renewable energy innovation fund through contributions from the successful proponents.
A total funding pool of $12 million will be made available under four funding streams: trades training innovation to accelerate the development of export-oriented trades training services for the national renewable energy and energy storage industries; energy research partnerships to attract the most talented energy researchers to the ACT and to develop local institutional capacity to deliver applied research services to local businesses; a renewable energy innovation precinct in the city west-new Acton area, including support for small, local and inbound businesses, thus extending the reach and capacity of the CBR Innovation Network; and technology demonstrations to support the development and commercialisation of new renewable energy, energy storage and energy control system technologies.
There is huge interest from industry in doing business with the territory, particularly when it comes to renewable energy. The next generation energy storage auction received 17 proposals for the $2 million project. Next generation energy storage combines solar generation with energy storage technologies to address the issues of intermittency of solar energy supply. The ACT is determined to play its part in developing the emerging distributed storage industry while capturing the benefits for households, businesses, research and trades training institutions.
The global battery storage market is predicted to be worth $400 billion by 2030. Due to its supportive policy environment and world-leading research capability, the ACT is an ideal launching pad for both national and international businesses seeking to get a head start in this exciting emerging industry. Through the next generation energy storage grants program, the ACT government has a vision for Canberra to become a globally recognised centre for distributed storage, innovation and investment.
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