Five years too long for expansion of scheme: They also claimed that the proposed five year period of notice before the emissions scheme could be expanded to cover other sources of emissions was of concern because it significantly delays active emissions reductions from large polluters. It may also encourage large outputs of emissions in the meantime before caps are introduced. A 2-3 year period of notice would be more than sufficient, they said.
State based schemes ignored: The scheme did not currently take the News South Wales Renewable Energy Schemes (NRET) into account, the submission stated. Likewise, the information regarding the Victorian Renewable Energy Target needed to be updated to reflect the final design of the scheme, specifically the details of the target, penalties and eligibility.
Proposed carbon prices not sufficient to encourage renewable energy investment: The proposed carbon prices are set at a level which will encourage the use of gas over coal for electricity generation. While this is a positive step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the submission stated, the government needed to recognize that these prices will not be sufficient to continue renewable energy generation investment without policies such as the VRET (and potentially NRET) schemes.
Contact: Laura Bassed, Wind Farm Developments, 608/31 Spring Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, email: lbassed@windfarmdevelopments.net
Reference: Submission to National Emissions Trading Taskforce Discussion Paper From Wind Farm Developments, 2006