Push for green power

The Adelaide Advertiser, Page: 39
Tuesday, 16 May 2006

MORE incentives are needed to lift investment in green power despite a 229 per cent jump in clean energy projects last year, the Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy said. Its recently released Clean Energy Report 2006 says in 2005, 1008 megawatts of clean energy projects were begun, compared with 306MW in 2004. Council executive director Ric Brazzale said while this was a sign of growing confidence in putting money into the sector, last week's Federal Budget was a missed opportunity. "The delay in pricing greenhouse emissions is creating barriers to investment into cleaner energy and consigning our growing greenhouse liability to future generations to deal with when times may not be so buoyant, " he said.

One of the authors of the Clean Energy report, Sarah Morton, said regulatory changes were the key driver for change. "Government programs such as the (Federal Government's) Mandatory Renewable Energy Target, the NSW Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme and Queensland's Gas Energy Certificate Scheme have been instrumental in driving new investment, " Dr Morton said. "For example, wind power capacity is now on track to achieve nearly 1000MW. "Much of this has been confined to South Australian, which will soon have 15 per cent of its power from renewables when only five years ago it was virtually zero.

"Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell said last week the decision was made two years ago that MRET was achieving its objectives and the target should not be changed.