Page 579 - Week 02 - Thursday, 16 February 2017
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We source our energy from generators located across eastern and southern Australia. This means the Territory won’t have any concerns about future supply reliability.
That is not to say that our transition to renewable energy was the cause of those blackouts. I say that.
Minister Rattenbury also suggests that investment in renewable energy is economically sound. I acknowledge Ms Le Couteur’s comments yesterday. Our commitment to 100 per cent renewable energy has been good for our local economy, has seen growth in the renewable energy technology sector resulting in a $500 million investment in the local economy, with jobs in the sector growing at 12 times the rate of anywhere else in Australia.
The Canberra Liberals welcome any sector which contributes to a strong, healthy economy. However, this must be balanced with family economy. Is the ACT at risk of putting so much support on growing the sector that we create an electricity market that is too expensive for the everyday Canberran? I do not ask this question as a rhetorical one, nor do I ask it because I know the answer. I ask it because the government is failing to do so.
I stated earlier that our proud badge as the bush capital is something that defines us. One of the crucial factors that make us the bush capital is our size. Although we are growing every day, by 5,000 people per year as the Chief Minister keeps reminding us, we need to be mindful of our place in Australia and on the international stage.
The ACT proportion of power consumption in Australia is very small and there is genuine concern that our frenetic pace to achieve our targets will place an unfair burden on those Canberrans that can afford it the least. The ACT government has itself stated that approximately $290 will be added to our electricity prices, in a city where cost of living is already at a premium with rates foreshadowed to continue to rise into the future.
High electricity prices, increasingly affordable solar PV and battery systems and the desire to be more energy self-sufficient will drive many Australian households to take up battery storage. Over 1.4 million Australian households are already using solar to control their electricity bills, and Australia’s solar PV systems are among the most affordable in the world. The ACT has proudly held itself out to be the solar capital of Australia. The solar PV report of March 2015 states:
In all Australian capital cities except Canberra, solar PV systems have already reached “grid parity”. This means that the cost of energy (per kWh) for installing a solar PV system is equal to or below the standard cost of electricity from the grid …
I acknowledge that the ACT government is investing in battery storage innovation with the rollout of the $25 million next generation renewables energy storage grants program. However, the questions about the physical size for adequate storage required for an average household have not yet been resolved; so we can only speculate what
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