INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS HUGE POTENTIAL At the ALP’s Clean Technology Jobs Summit Labor leader Anthony Albanese declared Australia must avoid “further drifting and time-wasting and embrace a revolution in jobs growth right across the Australian economy based on one inescapable fact – renewable energy is not only clean, but cheap, and getting cheaper.” If elected the Labor government would create a $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund and Rewiring the Nation for expansion in the sector, unlocking hundreds of thousands of secure, well-paid jobs. John Grimes of the Smart Energy Council which facilitated the summit later commented: “We managed to outline the compelling story that action on climate equals job creation and economic opportunity and that Australia is at a sliding doors moment in history… we can either stay wedded to the past and end up as a great big stranded asset globally or we can embrace low cost solar and wind and transform our energy sector. That would set us up at a comparative advantage in producing and exporting zero carbon and low carbon products and fuels to the world.” NEW ENERGY APPRENTICES
If elected, Labor will establish 10,000 New Energy Apprenticeships with apprentices receiving $10,000 to work in rooftop solar, battery storage, large-scale renewables, energy efficiency, renewables manufacturing and renewable hydrogen. Labor will also invest $10 million in a New Energy Skills Program to tailor skills training to the specific needs of new energy industries. John Grimes said “This is exactly what is needed to help create the skills that will make Australia a renewable energy superpower. We can, and must, have a strong economy and a safe climate.”
WA aspires to twice the quantity – 200GW – by 2040. Contrast this with WA’s current solar and wind capacity sitting at sub 1GW and Australia not quite pipping 10GW large scale renewables in the energy market of 70GW.
THE RATE OF WIND AND SOLAR ADDITIONS on the NEM’s eastern seaboard is powering along, with AEMO noting renewables supersede the most optimistic forecasts of 90 per cent by 2040. Currently up to 5.5GW is in the pipeline across 300 generation and storage projects, more than twice the existing capacity.
ENERGY SECURITY BOARD Chair Dr Kerry Schott says it is impossible to overstate the scale and pace of change in Australia’s electricity sector and “the rapid spread of large-scale wind and solar, along with rooftop PV means our energy system is experiencing the fastest and most substantial change in the world. We are preparing the advice Ministers need to enable the critical decisions needed for an affordable, reliable and secure electricity system that can ultimately operate at net zero emissions.”
The Smart Energy Council joined ALP’s Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen at AC Solar Warehouse to promote the New Energy Apprenticeships Program
MEANTIME action by Federal Minister Keith Pitt has effectively blocked NAIF funding for a wind farm in north Queensland that would have generated 250 regional jobs and savings in the region of $461 million in power costs.
WORSE The federal minister for energy and emissions reductions has signed off on $600 million of taxpayer funds on a new 660MW gasfired generator in the Hunter Valley. More fossil fuel generation = more greenhouse gas emissions; even the International Energy Agency states investment in new fossil fuel projects must cease now to meet climate targets. WESTERN AUSTRALIA GETS IT with an ambition to scale up big time: up to 100GW of new wind and solar capacity by 2030 to facilitate generation of green hydrogen. No, GW is not a misprint, neither is the fact 4 WINTER 2021
COLLABORATIVE LOBBYING Australia’s renewables potential surpasses every other nation in the world. Recognising this, more than 100 businesses and organisations joined forces with WWF in early May to call for Australia to become a Renewable Energy Superpower as part of the Renewables Nation campaign to shine a light on Australia’s renewable superpower opportunity.
