Australian government bill on green jobs and technology

On 30 April, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) endorsed the federal government’s renewable energy target (RET) which will potentially result in a $20 billion investment into the Australian renewable energy industry.

The RET scheme aims to implement the federal government's commitment to 20% of Australia's electricity supply coming from renewable energy sources by 2020. The scheme expands on the existing Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) scheme and absorbs state and territory renewable energy targets into a single national scheme. It includes a legislated target of 45,000 gigawatt-hours in 2020, which is more than four times larger than the current target.

This will mean that thousands of new jobs in the electricity generation sector could be created almost immediately.

“We applaud COAG’s decision to endorse these measures, which will see Australia come out of the shadows in terms of renewable energy investment and has the potential to put Australia back in its rightful place as a world leader in the field,” commented Rodger Meads, Managing Director of Conergy. “We have long been waiting for an announcement like this which means we are finally able to look to the future of the Australian sector with certainty.”

The RET bill will be tabled in the coming weeks before Federal Parliament and is expected to be approved swiftly. This is expected to open up the renewable energy industry’s investment into Australia as a secure and long-term growth market.

Meads commented: “Conergy has been pushing for political commitment to the renewable energy sector for some years now and we are happy that we now see these efforts rewarded. We are committed to Australia and see these measures as a vital signal to increase our investment in the Australian economy.”

The expanded national RET scheme will accelerate the deployment of renewable energy technologies such as wind, biomass and geothermal. It also includes Solar Credits, which will assist with the upfront costs of installing small-scale renewable energy systems, including household solar photovoltaic systems.

The federal government intends to put in place legislation to implement the expanded target design by mid-2009, with new targets to commence from 2010.

COAG has taken into consideration stakeholder views provided during consultation on the design of the expanded national RET scheme.