Victoria’s Ararat wind farm project in jeopardy, due to uncertainty over Renewable Energy Target
Wind future up in the air with renewable energy target uncertainty http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/2301438/wind-future-up-in-the-air-with-renewable-energy-target-uncertainty/?cs=12 By KARA IRVING May 22, 2014, THE developer of the Ararat Wind Farm project believes the federal government’s renewable energy target (RET) review has caused uncertainty among green energy developers, investors and retailers. RES Australia is behind the $450 million Ararat Wind Farm to be built on the Pyrenees Highway about 17 kilometres from Ararat. Head of development Annette Deveson said the ongoing RET review had stirred uncertainty in the green energy sector.
“We are working very hard to get the Ararat Wind Farm ready for construction,” Ms Deveson said. “But the government is causing uncertainty in the industry and for us.” The federal government is currently reviewing the RET to examine the operation, costs and benefits of the scheme.
The RET was developed to ensure 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020.
Although a decision had yet to be made about the renewable energy targets, Ms Deveson said the review had caused difficulties for prospective green energy developers. “They are not out there in the market looking for new projects,” she said. “As a business you are uncertain of your future market.”
Ms Deveson said the potential change impacted on investor confidence. Ararat Rural City Council last Friday made a submission to the RET review to pledge the importance of the project.
Mayor Paul Hooper said it was likely the wind farm would not be built because of the review. “The project will create 13 full time jobs after the construction has finished,” he said. “About $75,000 will be put back into community grants.”Mr Harper said the Ararat community would miss out if the project were to cease.“We will not see those benefits come to town, nor the long term employment opportunities,” he said.
“The community misses out.” kara.irving@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Tasmania’s successful renewable energy industry faces loss of investment if Renewable Energy Target is scrapped
Hydro Tasmania warns scrapping Renewable Energy Target will kill off investment http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-19/hydro-tasmania-warns-scrapping-renewable-energy-target-will-kil/5463404 By Lucy Shannon Australia’s largest renewable energy generator Hydro Tasmania has warned major projects will not go ahead if the Federal Government scraps the Renewable Energy Target Scheme.
The scheme, established by the Howard Government in 2001, aims to have 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity coming from renewable sources by 2020.
The Federal Government is reviewing the RET scheme, as required under legislation. Prime Minister Tony Abbott has faced strong internal pressure to scrap the target from both the Nationals and many Liberals who believe it has pushed up power prices.
Hydro Tasmania, a state-owned business, has made its submission to the review panel. Hydro Chief Stephen Davy says the RET has stimulated $18 billion worth of investment across the country. Mr Davy says if the scheme is scrapped the proposed $2 billion dollar wind farm for Tasmania’s King Island will not go ahead.
“It would almost certainly terminate any further investment in large scale renewable energy projects, and put at risk the long term viability of existing renewable energy assets,” he said.
A second electricity interconnector with Victoria would also be unlikely.
Hydro ‘vital to economy’
The submission points to the “vital and ongoing economic contribution” Hydro makes to Tasmania’s economy. It says more than $60 million was spent with Tasmanian businesses to support the construction of the Musselroe wind farm and more than 200 workers will be employed over the life of the project.
Mr Davy says with the expected abolition of the carbon price the RET is the “only long-term, large scale policy that can drive the uptake of zero-emissions energy sources.”
Last year, Hydro Tasmania announced a record pre-tax profit of $238 million dollars largely on the back of the carbon price which added $70 million to its coffers.
The Greens Senator, Christine Milne says Tasmania should be very fearful of the Government’s review.
“It’s been clear from the start that this is a sham, virtually all the people they’ve got on the review are climate sceptics, they support the old fossil fuel sector and they see renewable energy as competition to the old order,” she said. A spokesman for Greg Hunt says the review’s terms of reference specifically mention sovereign risk as an issue that will be considered by the panel.
There is no fixed date yet for when the report will be delivered.
Victoria’s Premier Napthine pledges support fo wind energy: I wish I could believe him,
Napthine pledges continued push for renewable energy investment http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-19/napthine-pledges-continued-push-for-renewable/5461022 19 May 2014, Premier Denis Napthine says he will work with renewable energy companies in south-west Victoria, amid concerns about their future.
The Federal Government axed the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and Clean Energy Finance Corporation in last week’s budget.
It is also reviewing the Renewable Energy Target.
Portland-based company Keppel Prince makes towers for wind turbines and says 150 jobs are at risk.
Dr Napthine says he hopes planned projects go ahead.
“We’ll continue to work with the Federal Government, work with the alternative energy industry, whether it’s wind energy, geothermal energy and wave energy, to see what prospects there are to continue investment in alternative energy under the new frameworks,” he said.
Lady Elliot Island to add wind and solar to its existing hybrid energy
More renewable energy in the wind for Lady Elliot Island http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-12/more-renewable-energy-in-the-wind-for-lady-elliot/5445804 By Frances Adcock Operators on Lady Elliot Island, north-east of Bundaberg, will consider installing wind generators to further improve the island’s energy efficiency.
One-hundred new solar panels will be installed at the island’s hybrid solar power station, which has provided more than half of the island’s power since 2008.
The island’s resort manager, Peter Gash, wants the island to become even more reliant on renewable energy.
“By Christmas we’d hope to do it by, we’d like to install a 10 kilowatt wind generator which will continue to feed power into the battery and into the grid, night and day, and if we can get the success we are hoping for with our 10 to 12 kilowatt wind generator and our 73 kilowatt of solar we will be hopeful we will be somewhere up around 90 per cent renewable,” he said.
He says after the installation of the new panels, more than 70 per cent of the island will be reliant on renewable energy. “We have a barge coming out on Wednesday and there is 125 panels on that and they are 260 watts per panel and they will go up on two separate roofs, and that’s a 16 and 17 kilowatt system,” he said.
“So another 33 kilowatts, so another 125 panels, so that puts us up at 73 kilowatts of power which is a substantial amount of power.”
Evidence mounts on benefits of Renewable Energy target: South Australia’s wind energy success
South Australian Wind Power – Economical And Effective http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4299 A new report shows wind power in South Australia has not increased wholesale electricity prices, nor created a need for additional back-up power generation capacity.
Around a quarter of South Australia’s electricity is now sourced from wind power; growing substantially from just 6% in 2005/6.
The eight year study of South Australia’s electricity sector by Windlab Systems shows during the period between 2005 and 2013, wholesale electricity prices have not risen, even if the full cost of the renewable energy certificates (REC) is included. Publicly available data from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) was utilised for the study.
Reliance on expensive and emission-intensive peaking power plants has reduced as have electricity imports from Victoria states the report. Windlab says electricity related carbon emissions have plummeted 34% even though power consumption has remained stable.
“The findings should provide clear guidance to the Federal Government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) review panel that wind energy and by association the RET should not be a scapegoat for explaining increases in domestic and business energy costs,” says Roger Price, the CEO of Windlab. “The study further underpins the conclusions of the Clean Energy Council’s commissioned report into the positive cost implications of the RET.”
The Clean Energy Council report indicates abolishing Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) would see Australian households paying billions more for electricity.
A copy of Windlab’s study report can be viewed here (PDF).
The evidence is mounting that the benefits of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target far outweigh the costs. Even so, there are fears the RET review is heading towards a “predetermined and biased outcome” that will result in the loss of thousands of jobs, billions of dollars of investment and also create additional financial burden on Australian households and businesses.
Economically depressed North Tasmania stands to lose wind farm project if Renewable Energy Target is cut.
Renewable energy fears for wind farm http://www.examiner.com.au/story/2274842/renewable-energy-fears-for-wind-farm/?cs=95 By EMILY BAKER 12 May 14, CUTS to the renewable energy target could affect a wind farm planned for the state’s economically depressed North, the project’s developer says. Low Head Wind Farm founder and director Shane Bartel yesterday said any significant cuts to the target would affect the $60 million wind farm proposed for an area east of Low Head.
Mr Bartel said the project would hire between 30 and 50 contractors in the building phase and employ five to 10 people post- construction.The project was partly driven by the federal target of 20 per cent renewable electricity production by 2020, which is under review.Low Head Wind Farm’s development application has been submitted to the government.”It’s up to the Commonwealth to approve that – we’re still working with them on that,” Mr Bartel said.
“I certainly think (a decision will be made) this month … to date, there have been no serious issues with it.”
The Australian reported on Saturday that Hydro Tasmania – which has power-purchasing agreements for its major Tasmanian wind farms Musselroe and Woolnorth – would suffer financially if there were significant cuts to the renewable energy target.
The state-owned company would not comment on the report leaked to the national newspaper but said ongoing reviews of the target had created uncertainty around wind farm revenues. “Hydro Tasmania did not confirm to The Australian the losses claimed in the story,” a statement from Hydro Tasmania said.
“It is our expectation that a positive outcome from the RET review will in fact make these figures meaningless, and our wind farm investments will be delivering the expected returns.”
Clean Energy Council deputy chief executive Kane Thornton said more than $10 billion of investment in renewable energy would be damaged if the scheme was changed. “Leaving the policy alone would create approximately 18,400 jobs by the end of the decade, additional investment of $15 billion in large-scale renewable energy and lower power bills over the medium term,” he said.
National Health and Medical Research Council finds no evidence of wind turbines negatively affecting health
NHMRC says evidence scant in wind turbine health debate ABC News 10 may 14 An initial report from the National Health and Medical Research Council has found no reliable evidence that wind turbines have a direct physical effect on health…….The review of submissions to the draft report is under-way and the final report is due out within the next few months.http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-09/tch-nhmrc-wind-health-research/5442148
Massive wind farm project approved by Tasmania’s West Coast Council
$200m wind farm on west coast passes another hurdle http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-09/24200m-wind-farm-on-west-coast-passes-another-hurdle/5441192 9 May 2014 Up to 200 jobs could be created on Tasmania’s west coast after the approval of a massive wind farm project.
The $200 million Granville Harbour project has passed another hurdle after gaining approval from West Coast Council. The proponent Westcoast Wind wants to build 33 turbines which will link to Reece Dam via an 11 kilometre transmission line. The Environment Protection Authority approved the project last month and handed it back to the council to assess.
West Coast Mayor Robyn Gerrity says it was given the green light at a special council meeting last night. “It’s a great boost for us, more job creation to saddle onto the new mining developments that are happening over the next 12 to 18 months,” she said.
The venture is still looking for investors.Last month, the proponents said they were not confident of finding investors while the Federal Government reviews the Renewable Energy Target.
Wind haters control Abbott government policy – poor prospects for future wind energy development
This may be as good as it gets for Australian wind energy http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/may-good-gets-australian-wind-energy-72276 By Giles Parkinson on 6 May 2014 New data released on Monday suggested that Australia in the month of April had reached its record level of output for wind energy – 4.6 per cent of total generation from the National Electricity Market.
As Australia’s coal industry winds down, wind energy surges ahead
Wind energy surges to record share as coal ebbs May 5, 2014 Peter Hannam Environment Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald Wind energy’s share of Australia’s main electricity market jumped to a record last month, helping to curb emissions from the power sector even as hydro output shrank, according to energy consultancy Pitt & Sherry.
Wind farms, derided last week by Treasurer Joe Hockey as “utterly offensive” blights on the landscape, increased their share of the market to a record 4.6 per cent, up one percentage point from a year earlier, the company said in its monthly CEDEX report.
With major black-coal fired plants such as Liddell and Bayswater in NSW continuing to operate well short of capacity, greenhouse gas emissions from the National Electricity Market for the month were 5.8 million tonnes lower than a year earlier, or down 3.5 per cent.
Coal’s share of the market remained near its record low of 73.8 per cent.
However, the shift away from coal may soon be reversed as politics and markets combine to alter the economics of energy.
The Abbott government remains steadfast in its plans to remove the carbon tax – now at $24.15 a tonne – which has helped make black coal-fired plants, in particular, relatively expensive.
Senior members, including Prime Minister Tony Abbott, have also signalled their intent to weaken the Renewable Energy Target, a move likely to freeze new investments in wind farms………
Broken promise in the offing?
Mark Butler, the opposition’s climate change spokesman, said the Abbott government was “crab-walking” away from its pre-election promise to leave the Renewable Energy Target unchanged at 41,000 gigawatt-hours by 2020.
The government has set up a review of the target, led by climate change sceptic Dick Warburton, with many in the clean energy industry fearing the panel will recommend a delay and or weakening of the goals.
“This is a just another broken promise driven by ideology in face of the clear evidence that this has been a major policy success,” Mr Butler said.
While falling energy demand has contributed to falling emissions, “the big driver” for the industry has been the rise of renewables, he said.
Two-thirds of the emissions drop has been “because renewable energy increased its market share by 25 per cent in the first 12 months” of the carbon tax’s start, he said. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/wind-energy-surges-to-record-share-as-coal-ebbs-20140505-zr4rg.html#ixzz30zIKSJIQ
Some Australians are finding Joe Hockey’s opinion on wind energy offensive and silly
Joe Hockey’s turbine huff stokes coals of discontent WA Today, 4 May 14 Simeon Glasson Mr Hockey is right. As a lover of nature I agree with him 100 per cent. Wind farms are an offensive blight on nature’s beauty. As are open-cut coal mines, gold mines, uranium mines, and iron ore mines. The buildings around Sydney Harbour including the Opera House and Harbour Bridge surely spoil the sublime beauty of what must have been a pristine environment before white man arrived. LNG terminals on the (no longer so) Great Barrier Reef? Say no more. I suggest we do away with human civilisation altogether – leave the planet in all its original glory. Hmmm – maybe it’s too late for that.
So unless Mr Hockey wants to live in the Dark Ages let’s keep the wind farms – they look at least as good as some of the alternative sources of energy without the enormous environmental cost.
Andy Royal Joe Hockey is entitled to dislike wind turbines and hold other foolish opinions but he should not try to ram his “ideas” down other people’s throats or, worse, threaten to withdraw government support for green power initiatives designed to help secure a safe and secure future for our children.
Kevin Atkins Joe Hockey, of North Sydney, the epicentre of ugly concrete and steel monstrosities, is offended by a few scattered wind turbines in country Australia which are a “blight on the landscape”. Astonishing.
Doug Steley Joe Hockey says wind farms are “utterly offensive” and “a blight on the landscape”. I did not see him in Morewell when it was covered in toxic choking smoke and ash from the brown-coal-fired power station mine fire recently.
If he thinks a coal-fired power station is more attractive than wind turbines then I would suggest he moves and chooses to live closer to one of them.
Mona Finley Mr Hockey’s opinion of wind farms as ‘‘a blight on the landscape’’ could well go down as one of those ‘‘silly chump’’ statements that will have future generations spluttering with disbelief. Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, and every time I have caught sight of wind turbines, whether in Europe, New Zealand, or Australia, they appeared to me like art installations or sculpture – gleaming white, so tall and graceful, vanes turning in a meditative manner – and on top of all that, they’re producing lovely pollution-free energy. What’s not to like?
Anne Cooper I see the wind farms on the road to Canberra and am transfixed by their clean lines and simple efficiency. Conversely, a drive through the blighted Hunter Valley coal region is truly offensive. Get some perspective, Mr Hockey. Wind turbines are just big versions of the iconic Aussie windmills.
Thos Puckett Given his tilt at “utterly offensive” wind farms is the Treasurer the Joe Quixote of the 21st century?…….http://www.watoday.com.au/comment/smh-letters/joe-hockeys-turbine-huff-stokes-coals-of-discontent-20140504-zr4ae.html#ixzz30sXmyRE3
Australia’s Treasurer Joe Hockey on the attack against wind energy
What hope green energy? Hockey says turbines “utterly offensive” http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/hope-green-energy-hockey-says-turbines-utterly-offensive-72824 By Giles Parkinson on 2 May 2014 The prospects of a re-start of large scale renewable energy projects in Australia dimmed further on Friday when Treasurer Joe Hockey described the sight of wind turbines as “utterly offensive.” Hockey, speaking to ultra-conservative shock-jock Alan Jones on radio 2GB, said wind turbines were a “blight on the landscape” and vowed to axe “the vast number” of environmental agencies
Hockey’s comments were made after Jones asked him about the “nonsense” of climate change, and renewable energy policies, and asked why – when the government had rejected support for SPC Admona and car makers – was it “chasing” Thai and Chinese-made wind turbines.
This is the conversation from there:
Hockey: “If I can be a little indulgent, I drive to Canberra to go to parliament and I must say I find those wind turbines around Lake George to be utterly offensive.”
Jones: “Correct.”
Hockey: “I think they’re just a blight on the landscape.”
Jones: “Correct. The people you are talking to are paying for them. When are you going to knock them off?”
Hockey: (chuckling) “Well, we can’t knock those ones off, they are into locked into a scheme. There is a certain contractual obligation, I’m told, associated with those things. But you will see in the budget we will address the massive duplication that you have talked about, the vast number of agencies involved in the same thing. We have considered that very carefully. When I say we’ve seen the age of entitlement, that applies to business as much as it applies to the rest of us.”
Hockey also told Jones that the government would cut a swathe through environmental agencies, including, he said, the Clean Energy Regulator, which environment minister Greg Hunt says we need to manage and operate the emissions reduction fund in the ludicrous Direct Action scheme.
Hockey probably meant the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Attention to detail has not been the government’s strong point, and it has been determined to dismantle any authority or scheme with the words “clean” or “climate” or “carbon” in front of it – the carbon price, the Climate Commission, the Climate Change Authority – even the Cleantech awards had to be renamed.
The CEFC, along with the Export Finance Investment Corporation, attracts private funds, and delivers a positive return to the government. But even EFIC has been slated for closure in what the AFR’s Chanticleer columnist described as one of a series of “brain explosions” from the Far Right revealed in the National Audit Commission.
The wind turbines around Lake George that Hockey finds so offensive are part of Infigen Energy’s Capital wind farm (pictured). Neighbouring regions areas are a hot-bed of anti-wind farm activitism, particularly from business leaders such as Maurice Newman, Abbott’s hand-picked head of his business advisory body.
Local state MP Pru Goward, the newly appointed minister of planning for NSW, has described wind turbines as “hideous”, and federal MP Angus Taylor is one of the many fierce opponents of wind farms in the Coalition. Amid all this, the ACT government is trying to commission 200MW of wind capacity as part of its plans to go 90 per cent renewable.
The federal government, on the other hand, appears comfortable with 90 per cent fossil fuels. It has commissioned a review panel to assess the renewable energy target, and has chosen a team led by climate change denier Dick Warburton, who has said that nuclear energy is the only viable alternative to coal, to make a judgement on the scheme that is designed to bring in more wind and solar energy to the energy system.
The constant uncertainty about green energy policy has meant that no new large scale wind farms have been committed in Australia since 2012 – apart from some solar farms supported by other schemes, and the massive investment by Australian households in rooftop solar. The emergence of solar, and soon enough storage, as a cost competitive alternative to energy delivered through expensive networks, is causing Australia’s major utilities to reassess their business models, and the way they deliver electricity. However, they lament that politicians and regulators are looking to the past, rather than the future.
They have argued, as has Tony Abbott, that the renewables scheme is very expensive, even though regulators note that it adds only about 3 per cent to consumer bills.
The Clean Energy Council this week produced a report that suggested that the fall in wholesale prices caused by the influx of renewables would offset the cost of certificates and actually lead to cheaper bills for consumers in the medium to long term.
This assessment was rejected by Hunt this week. And in a further sign of the government’s, and the panel’s hard-line attitude to renewables, Warburton said a complete dismantling of the renewable energy target could not be ruled out, even though this would lead to billions of dollars in losses, and to the removal of the “contractual obligation” that Hockey appeared to lament.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency is also in danger of having its funding stripped and of being absorbed back into a government department.
Renewable energy and carbon price are financial winners for Tasmania
Tasmania wins from pollution price http://christine-milne.greensmps.org.au/campaigns/tasmania-wins-pollution-price 21 March 14, Since the government made big businesses pay for their greenhouse pollution, Tasmanians have come out ahead because the money raised is used to help low-income earners, and invest in clean energy.
Tasmanians who earned $80,000 or less got a permanent tax cut, and the amount you earn before you pay tax was increased from $6,900 to $18,200.
More than 295,000 Tasmanians had permanent rises in their Age Pension, Disability Pension, Carer Allowance, Newstart Allowance, Youth Allowance, Austudy and Abstudy payments, special benefits and Family Tax Benefit A and B.
Tasmanian businesses received $13 million in grants to help their energy efficiency, and $14.9 million went to farmers and landcare groups to protect our soil, wildlife and bush from the effects of climate change.
Part of the funding raised by the price on pollution is also being used to fund investment in more clean renewable energy and energy efficiency, including projects in Tasmania. Tasmania produces more renewable energy than any other Australian state. Selling our renewable energy to other states earns about $70 million for Tasmania every year.
This money is used to pay for our hospitals, schools and other important services. Producing renewable energy fits with Tasmania’s clean, green and creative brand which so many businesses rely on.
Australian Medical Association says wind farms do no cause adverse health effects
AMA statement on wind power should reassure Australians says CEC http://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/article/ama-statement-on-wind-power-should-reassure-20140319 Robin WhitlockTuesday, 18 March 2014 The Australian Clean Energy Council (CEC) has welcomed a public statement by the Australian Medical Association dismissing claims of adverse health effects from wind turbinesThe CEC said that the AMA statement should provide additional peace of mind for communities living in the vicinity of existing or proposed wind power projects. CEC Policy Director Russell Marsh added that the AMA statement followed similar recommendations by health and acoustic bodies across Australia, to the effect that there is no evidence to link wind farms and adverse health effects.
“Other groups that have made positive statements on wind farm noise and health recently include the New South Wales and Victorian health departments, the South Australian Environmental Protection Agency and the Association of Australian Acoustical Consultants” said Mr Marsh. “The National Health and Medical Research Council, the national peak body for health research, also released a draft position statement several weeks ago that stated there was ‘no reliable or consistent evidence that proximity to wind farms or wind farm noise is directly associated with health effects’.”
Mr Marsh went on to report that no credible Australian health or acoustic organisations are opposing wind farms and that people should therefore feel reassured by that.
There has been a steady misinformation campaign in Australia over several years waged by those opposed to wind farms. This makes it even more important that developers of wind power projects should maintain good relations with the communities living in the vicinity of existing or proposed wind farms.
The CEC has now developed community engagement guidelines for wind farms in addition to a community expectations guide.
For additional information: Clean Energy Council (CEC) Community Engagement Guidelines
In Canberra 80.000 homes to be powered by wind energy
Wind energy to power 80,000 Canberra homes Kirsten Lawson Chief Assembly reporter for The Canberra Times, 12 Mar 14, Wind energy is set to power 80,000 Canberra households within six years as the ACT government announces details on Thursday of an auction for huge wind farms in the region.
The government will sign 20-year deals with successful bidders, who will get a guaranteed price for the energy they supply.
The news will energise wind farms at different stages of approval and construction that have been waiting for a guaranteed buyer for the energy. But it is also set to galvanise anger in country areas that will host forests of wind turbines powering the capital…..http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/wind-energy-to-power-80000-canberra-homes-20140311-34kox.html
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