By now you have probably heard the main details of the carbon price package, but are perhaps not aware of the big win for renewable energy it contains. Those pushing for greater support for renewable energy have won a fantastic outcome with new money, new independent bodies and a requirement for the energy regulator to develop a plan to deliver 100% renewable energy. There are more details on these announcements at the end of this article.
In the words of John Grimes, Chief Executive of the Australian Solar Energy Society, these changes will see “solar on steroids,” with $10 billion over five years delivering “substantial investment in solar power and position Australia as a solar nation.” The Greens celebrated Australia “turn[ing] its back on the fossil fuel age” as it sought to catch up on years of underinvestment.
These achievements are even more remarkable when it is considered that two months ago there was no public talk of renewable energy investment as part of the carbon price package. This started to change with a concerted effort by community organisations to tell their elected representatives that simply “pushing money around in a circle” from taxation to compensation wasn’t enough, that a change in direction was needed.
SLA was one of those key community groups. In Armidale we found ourselves in the lucky position of not only having an MP – Tony Windsor – who was a key decision maker but one who was willing to listen. Best of all, we had a well-organised community group and enthusiastic membership who were willing to speak up.
The culmination of these efforts was a town hall Forum Supporting Renewable Energy held last month, which many of you attended. SLA and 100% Renewables New England organised a night where locals were able to hear the reasons why we needed investment in renewables, to show their support for this idea and then put pressure on Mr Windsor to act.
The importance of this town hall forum in getting today’s investment in renewable energy shouldn’t be underestimated. The Multi-Party Climate Change Committee (MPCCC) had seven members, consisting of four Labour MPs, two Greens and two Independents. Bob Brown and Christine Milne from the Greens always supported more investment for renewables but Labour appeared less interested.
Mr Windsor and Mr Oakeshott’s views were therefore critical in deciding whether renewables would receive new financing. Mr Windsor represents an electorate of diverse views and is careful to listen to and balance these competing needs. The strong show of support for renewable energy he saw at the Armidale public forum would have allowed him return to the final negotiations of the MPCCC and confidently say “yes, my voters want this change.”
It’s wonderful to see how action at a community level can affect big changes to our nation’s future, so you are all to be congratulated. It’s important to take the time to pat yourself on the back occasionally, and to recognise that from our little town in rural NSW we really are making a difference, locally, nationally and even globally.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Hadley and Jarra, 100% Renewables New England and SLA
newengland100percent@gmail.com
The details of the wins for renewable energy
Australian Renewable Energy Agency
- A new independent statutory body called ARENA is being created to support research, development, commercialisation and demonstration of renewable energy – this will start up immediately.
- ARENA rolls together all of the ad-hoc existing renewable energy programs into one coherent body, with funding to the tune of $3.2billion to 2019.
- Administration of ARENA is being removed from the Minister for Resources, Energy and Tourism and will be overseen by an independent board. This removes the political and short-term approach to renewables development that has been the problematic in the past.
- There is no new money for the agency at this stage, but a yet to be determined % of compensation will go to this fund over time and it will also gain revenue from any profits made in the clean energy finance corp (see below).
Clean Energy Finance Corporation
- This corporation to be set up in 2013 will oversee the distribution of loan-guarantee and other measures.
- It will have $10b over 5 years, at least half of which is quarantined for renewable energy (likely large scale solar) and the other half which will be accessible to renewable too.
- ‘Clean coal’ will be excluded from support from the corporation.
Planning for a 100% renewable energy grid
- The energy regulator has been asked to do planning work on how we can develop a grid for renewable energy. This is significant because it moves the concept of a 100% renewable energy future into the political mainstream, and because this study will be undertaken by the engineers and planners who are already responsible for Australia’s energy network.
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