Page 3789 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 29 October 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
electricity supply by 2020. On 22 October this year the federal government revealed that its preferred position on the RET is to reduce it to what is claimed to be the true 20 per cent by 2020 target. The commonwealth also announced its support for renewable energy target exemptions for aluminium smelters as well as possibly other emission-intensive industries.
Reduction of the national RET is regrettable, the latest step in a concerning movement away from meaningful action on climate change at a national level. Yet conversely, the ACT government is pursuing opportunities to reduce our emissions across the territory in a cost-effective and well-considered manner. As Ms Berry has outlined, we have strong and comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction targets and we have a strong plan to achieve those reductions through action plan 2 and a 90 per cent renewable energy target.
In September 2012 I announced that FRV Royalla Solar Farm Pty Ltd had been awarded a grant of a feed-in tariff entitlement for their 20-megawatt proposal at Royalla. As members would now know, this farm was commissioned in late August this year and is now the largest operational photovoltaic installation in Australia and is the first to be connected to the national electricity market. In August 2013 feed-in tariff entitlements were awarded under the large-scale solar auction process to Zhenfa Canberra Solar Farm One Pty Ltd for a 13-megawatt solar farm to be developed at Mugga Lane and to OneSun Capital 10MW Operating Pty Ltd for a seven-megawatt solar farm proposed to be built at Uriarra. These initiatives have been procured at the best possible price through an innovative reverse-auction process.
In November 2013 the government adopted its 90 per cent renewable energy target and on 17 April this year the government proceeded with the next stage of its support for large-scale renewable energy through a request for proposals for a reverse auction for feed-in tariff entitlements of up to 200 megawatts of wind-generating capacity for the ACT. Proposals closed in September this year. Successful proposals can be located anywhere in the national electricity market, which covers all jurisdictions except Western Australia and the Northern Territory. If they are outside the Australian capital region, in the broader national interest, in the market they must satisfy a local ACT region investment criterion as part of the assessment process.
The government’s innovative approach through the auction process has attracted praise both nationally and internationally. Most recently, as I advised members yesterday, it was announced that the solar auction policy was nominated as a finalist in the local government sustainability category for the national Banksia sustainability awards. Short-listing as a finalist is confirmation of the ACT’s capacity to compete and lead policy innovation at a national level.
One of the great features of AP2 is the unprecedented level of transparency it provides regarding estimated costs and savings from the various energy efficiency and renewable energy measures. The modelling and key assumptions are there for all to see. What does AP2 tell us? Firstly, it tells us that the move to 90 per cent renewable energy, to achieve our 2020 abatement target, results in an estimated 16 per cent increase in household electricity bills or approximately $4.40 per household per week. But it also shows that a large percentage of this price increase is compensated through
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video