Greens’ plan for 100% renewable energy
The Australian Greens today launched a policy to plan Australia’s transformation into a 100% renewable energy powerhouse over the coming decades.
“Australia can harness our tremendous resources of the sun, wind, ocean, earth and human ingenuity to replace our reliance on coal with 100% renewable energy within decades,” Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said.
“But, to make that transformation rapidly and efficiently, we need a plan: we need to know where our biggest and best renewable energy resources are; we need streamlined consultation and approvals processes that bring communities together instead of dividing them; and we need jobs and infrastructure in the right place at the right time.
“The Greens are proposing that we start working on that plan immediately so we can have a 100% renewable Australia as soon as possible.”
The Planning for 100% Renewable Energy policy would task Infrastructure Australia with:
· mapping Australia’s renewable energy resource;
· bringing together governments, communities and developers in streamlined consultation and approvals processes;
· creating renewable energy development zones, funding necessary grid infrastructure; and
· preparing a scoping study for achieving 100% renewable energy powering Australia by 2030, 2040 and 2050.
This policy would work in conjunction with a gross national feed-in tariff, giving certainty to investors in all forms of renewable energy, and an increased renewable energy target.
“We need policies to drive renewable energy and an infrastructure plan to enable the expansion to 100%. We need a plan, not ad hoc grants cobbled together for an election.
“Right now, Australia’s renewable energy policies are uncoordinated and directionless as well as unambitious. Unless this changes, renewable energy will always stay on the sidelines even though global experience shows it is already technically capable of replacing coal and gas.
“If new power lines are built to a new wind farm before we work out if other developments will happen in the area, either the power lines will have to be duplicated at great expense or the later developments won’t happen.
“If we have the 100% renewables goal in mind as we go, and we have done the grunt work of mapping and consultation in advance, we can avoid these expensive mistakes and instead find the synergies that will make the transformation easier, cheaper and faster.
“Renewable energy development zones have been tremendously popular and effective in parts of the USA and Europe, cutting red tape and bringing communities, governments and developers together instead of setting them at loggerheads.
“We know already that some of our best resources for baseload solar power match up with both huge geothermal energy reserves and wind. As well, some of our best wind resources are in the same place as great potential ocean power resources. We need a proper mapping exercise to overlay this with the existing grid and reasonable access to population centres.
For more information phone Tim Hollo 0437 587 562
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