A re-elected Labor Government extend the Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET) to 50 per cent by 2030
It’s expected that these targets will help deliver around $9 billion of investment and create more than 11,000 jobs over the life of the scheme.
As well as jobs, the VRET will put more energy into the grid, delivering up to 5,400MW of new, large scale renewable energy capacity by 2025.
Victoria’s first renewable energy auction is delivering 928MW of renewable energy, with the six projects across the state producing enough electricity to power 646,273 households – the equivalent of powering the towns of Ballarat, Bendigo, and Geelong combined.
The power produced by these projects is also expected to drive a 16 per cent reduction in Victoria’s electricity sector greenhouse gas emissions by 2034/35.
Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, Kane Thornton, said delivering 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030 is achievable and can be delivered at a lower cost than any other comparable option to modernise Victoria’s electricity sector.
“The national Large-scale Renewable Energy Target essentially stops encouraging new renewables from 2020. The industry is not calling for new subsidy, but we do need investment certainty,” Mr Thornton said.
“Victoria has now introduced an impressive and comprehensive suite of policies to encourage the transition to clean energy, and is setting the pace for other states to follow.
“Federal energy policy remains in chaos following the demise of the National Energy Guarantee, and the renewable energy industry is now looking for leadership at the state level beyond the end of this decade.
“Building new low-cost clean energy such as solar and wind before our ageing coal-fired plants retire is the most effective way to drive down power prices for Victorian energy customers.
“Energy projects are assets with long lives which typically operate for 15 years or more. While the industry continues to wait for certainty at the federal level, extending the VRET to 2030 provides the certainty that renewable energy companies need to invest in new wind, solar and storage projects across the state.”
