Page 2699 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 15 August 2017
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the capacity for which feed-in tariff entitlements could be granted. On 23 August 2016 the former government announced the 109-megawatt Hornsdale Wind Farm stage 3 and the 91-megawatt Crookwell 2 Wind Farm as the successful next generation renewables auction proposals. The Hornsdale Wind Farm stage 3 located south-east of Port Augusta in South Australia is the third stage of the Hornsdale Wind Farm that was a winner in the first and second wind auctions conducted by the ACT government in 2014 and 2015. When announced, its feed-in tariff price of $73 per megawatt hour was the lowest publically known wind support price in Australia.
Like other successful auction projects, the Hornsdale Wind farm stage 3 and the Crookwell 2 Wind Farm will deliver significant local economic benefits to the ACT. These include the establishment of a new hydrogen mobility and storage program, in partnership with industry. A further very significant local investment delivered by both the Hornsdale Wind Farm stage 3 and the Crookwell 2 Wind Farm is $25 million in funding to support the government’s new next generation energy storage program that will support up to 5,000 renewable electricity storage units across the territory and will be one of the largest storage rollouts for domestic households in the world.
Both proposals represented exceptional value for money for the ACT government, and this has been supported by the review’s findings. I am also pleased to report that both projects are making excellent progress, with the Hornsdale Wind Farm stage 3 reaching financial close in February and the Crookwell 2 Wind Farm reaching financial close in November last year. Both are currently proceeding to construction.
The act requires that a review of each capacity release be undertaken within six months of its last grant of feed-in tariff entitlement. The act also requires the responsible minister to present a copy of the review to the Assembly no later than six months after the end of the period in which the review is undertaken. On 19 January 2016 the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate engaged Jacobs Australia to undertake the review of both the auction and the act. Its review of the auction was delivered to the directorate on 17 February 2017, within six months of the last grant of feed-in tariff entitlement under the capacity release which was made on 18 August 2016.
The review included wide consultation with successful and unsuccessful auction proponents, members of the next generation renewables auction advisory panel, renewable electricity industry participants and members of the government. The review of the act included a number of key findings and highlighted the overall success of the act and the ACT government reverse auction program in general.
In summary, the review found that the administration of the auction was efficient and effective and well received by industry; the auction was more refined and had greater clarity than previous auctions; the auction process was not excessively burdensome for proponents; the auction’s framework was transparent and well received by proponents; a high level of competition was generated and high value-for-money outcomes were obtained in the auction; and the auction was successful in fulfilling the objectives of the act.
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