Herald Sun, Page: 22
Saturday, 8 April 2006
VICTORIA is the nation's green power capital. As a cloud hangs over future wind energy investment, new figures show the popularity of environmentally friendly power is soaring and Victorian households are leading the way. The number of Victorian homes using wind, solar, hydro and biomass energy doubled last year to almost 79, 000.With 3100 Victorian businesses also switched on, the state had a total 81, 842 green power customers.
Mt Waverley was the greenest suburb with 1236 green power users, followed by Glen Iris with 1041 customers. The audit of green power showed use around the nation jumped 62 per cent in the year to December, when 212, 302 homes and businesses were plugged in. Wind was the largest source of green power in the December quarter, accounting for about 56 per cent. But the State Government and the wind energy industry have said the future of wind power is in doubt after the Federal Government blocked a wind farm at Bald Hills in South Gippsland to protect an endangered parrot.
The audit showed Queenslanders were the second-biggest users of green power, with 65, 548 customers. New South Wales followed with 36, 958, and Western Australia had the fewest, at 1232.Victorian Environment Minister John Thwaites applauded Victorians for going green. ''These households will collectively cut greenhouse pollution by 117, 000 tonnes each year, the equivalent of removing 27, 042 cars from Victoria's roads, which is a fantastic result for the environment, '' he said.
The green power scheme allows households and businesses to get a percentage of their power from renewable sources. It costs between about $1 and $5 per week more than traditional power, depending on the proportion chosen. Though Victoria had the most customers, they did not use as much green power as NSW users.
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