Govt support means bright future for clean energy

The future is bright for new clean energy technologies such as large-scale solar, marine energy, geothermal and storage due to state and federal government support, Clean Energy Council CEO David Green has told the Cleantech Innovations Forum in Geelong.

According to Green, advances in large-scale solar power over the last month have underlined the importance of bipartisan support for the 20% Renewable Energy Target and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

“Big solar has been touted as the next big thing in renewable energy for some time, and it’s excellent to see some major projects securing funding and approvals over the last month to really energise the future of this very promising technology,” Green said.

“Projects like those being developed by AGL and First Solar at Nyngan and Broken Hill in NSW, the Royalla Solar Farm by FRV (Fotowatio Renewable Ventures) in the ACT and the Moree Solar Farm by FRV and Pacific Hydro in northern NSW will be much larger than any solar projects previously seen in this country.

“And the pilot plant launched by Solar Systems at Mildura in Victoria’s north-west uses technology developed and manufactured here in Australia.”

ARENA is helping to kick-start the large-scale solar industry in Australia, Green said. He said he hopes to see the agency formalise this support through a targeted program for the technology.

“Support from ARENA, a number of state governments and the 20% Renewable Energy Target policy have proven particularly important in getting these pioneering projects over the line,” Green said.

“Once these first large-scale solar projects are built, we will start to see the cost of the technology come down and become more competitive.

“Continued bipartisan support for ARENA and the Renewable Energy Target, along with better use of demand management, will help to transform Australia towards a cleaner, smarter and more consumer-focused energy system.”