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AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION
OTTAWA
MEDIA RELEASE
AUSTRALIA ESTABLISHES RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGET
8 September 2009
Australia has passed legislation to ensure that 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity supply comes from renewable sources by 2020.
The Renewable Energy Target scheme will help prepare the electricity sector to contribute to the significant emissions reductions that will be needed to address climate change. Electricity generation accounts for more than one-third of Australia’s current greenhouse gas emissions, so Australia’s transition to a low pollution future will require a significant transformation in this sector.
The RET will accelerate the uptake of renewable energy technologies, including solar, wind and geothermal, helping to transition the energy sector to lower carbon production.
The RET scheme has been designed to operate in parallel with Australia’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). It will conclude in 2030, at which time the CPRS is expected to be the primary driver of renewable energy.
The RET will provide a significant boost to the renewable energy industry.
The RET increases the previous Mandatory Renewable Energy Target scheme target by over four times from 9,500 gigawatt-hours to 45,000 gigawatt-hours.
Modelling shows that implementation of the expanded RET, together with the CPRS, will lead to around $19 billion in investment in the renewable energy sector in the decade to 2020.
The RET and CPRS are complemented by the $4.5 billion Clean Energy Initiative, which includes $2.1 billion to support research, development and deployment of renewable technologies:
– $1.5 billion for the Solar Flagships program which will aim to create an additional 1,000 megawatts of solar generation capacity;
– $100 million for the Australian Solar Institute, which supports research into solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, and other solar technology; and
– $465 million to establish the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy to support leading-edge technology research and bring it to market.