Wind farmers want more than the thin edge of the wedge

News-Mail, Page: 14
Thursday, 22 June 2006

HOBART: Australia stands to lose billions of dollars in wind farm investment if it doesn't give renewable energy a greater share of the national energy market, an industry leader has warned. Mark Kelleher, managing director of renewable energy company Roaring 40s, said companies were being forced to invest offshore as Australia lagged behind international renewable energy targets. renewable energy accounts for about 0.5 per cent of the Australian market, compared with 20 per cent in other countries.

The industry is calling for the Federal Government to revise its Mandated renewable energy Target or implement another measure to ensure future growth. "In the absence of something like that the industry won't be able to proceed," Mr Kelleher said. The MRET was introduced in 2001, requiring energy retailers to purchase an extra two per cent, or 9500 gigawatt hours, of renewable energy per year by 2010. But Mr Kelleher said Australia's economic and energy growth meant the specified 9500 gigawatts was now equal to only 0.5 per cent of the market.

The Government's refusal to lift its renewable energy targets had forced Roaring 40s to stall new projects, including its $230 million Musselroe wind farm in north-east Tasmania. Mr Kelleher warned that unless renewable energy targets were raised, wind farms would lose importance as a source of renewable energy in Australia. "The few farms that are built around Australia now obviously will run their course for the next 15, 20 years or so, but basically rather than it being the beginning of a very important industry, it will be seen as a few wind farms have gone up, and that's as far as it will go," he said. Mr Kelleher said the loss of wind farm companies and associated manufacturing businesses would result in a loss worth "in the billions".

"Firms like ours. will obviously continue to operate the (wind farms) we've got here but the activity will drop back to a care and maintenance role and all. the investment will go overseas," he said. Roaring 40s has already invested in wind farms in New Zealand and China, and is exploring new projects in Korea and India.