Wind farmers fight blow to their hopes

Courier Mail
Wednesday 6/6/2007 Page: 43

THRIVING wind and biomass energy businesses that pump billions of dollars into the economy would be killed off if the states were forced to abandon clean power schemes, an industry body warned yesterday. The Business Council for Sustainable Energy will meet government officials today to argue against a recommendation by Prime Minister John Howard's carbon emissions task group that effectively ends incentives for the industry.

The Task Group on Emissions Trading, headed by Peter Shergold, last week called for state Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) schemes to be abandoned. BCSE said yesterday it will present Mr Howard's advisers with a study that showed $11.9 billion of new investment and 12,000 additional jobs would be lost overseas if state schemes were unravelled. "To deliver objectives under the schemes, some companies have already committed substantial capital over 10 years because of the incentives," BCSE executive director Ric Brazzale said.

BCSE estimates the renewables sector, which employs 20,000 people, is worth $6 billion. "We will be reinforcing the importance of setting a mandatory target of 20 per cent of electricity to be produced from renewable energy sources by 2020," he said. "We will be advocating that a national renewable energy scheme along the lines of MRET be implemented." Melbourne-based wind farm operator Pacific Hydro said yesterday that if electricity companies were not encouraged to buy clean power the renewable energy industry would go into hibernation. "The only thing driving investment in new generation in the next five to 10 years are the state-based schemes of

Victoria, NSW and Queensland," Pacific Hydro chief executive Rob Grant said yesterday. "Under an increased clean energy target in conjunction with emissions trading, Pacific Hydro stands ready to invest more than $1 billion in renewable energy projects in southern Australia." Without a target, the company said it would take its investment capital to Chile and Brazil. "We have enormous wind resources along the southern coast because there is nothing between us and Antarctica," Mr Grant said. Mr Grant said that clean power targets that existed throughout the world now were largely being met by wind energy.