23rd November 2023
Energy experts and community advocates around the country are this morning welcoming the Federal Government's announcement of a greatly expanded Capacity Investment Scheme to back renewable energy and storage.
The government has announced it will expand the scheme to support the delivery of a combined 32 gigawatts of variable capacity, like large-scale solar and wind farms, and dispatchable capacity, like big batteries. The delivery of this clean energy infrastructure will create new, renewable energy jobs.
This would see a doubling of the renewable energy in Australia's electricity grid, and is equivalent to more than 10 times the current total electricity generation capacity in the whole of Tasmania.
The following experts are available to comment on the benefits of this announcement:
Justin Page, Hunter Jobs Alliance Coordinator
“As an organisation that supports growth and investment in renewable energy in the Hunter, we see the huge potential that this announcement has for local and sustainable jobs in energy, manufacturing and supply-chains.
“With the right Government Policy and Framework settings we have the opportunity to maximise local content, mitigate environmental impacts and provide community benefits to the Hunter region.
“The transition away from coal is a global reality, and in a time of change, we need to build new sustainable industries and opportunities to ensure the Hunter remains a great place to live for both us and our children. This level of investment in renewable energy infrastructure will mean local workers will have more opportunities in the transition, and are better placed to move into future-proof careers.”
Stephanie Bashir, CEO Nexa Advisory and Energy Expert
“This announcement by Minister Bowen shows leadership and determination to get Australia’s energy transition back on track.
“Supercharging the CIS to 32 GW is a pragmatic and cost-effective solution for households, business and the government. It will incentivize renewable energy and firming capacity, and it will do so in a timely way.
“Shoring up new renewables and storage will go a long way towards meeting our 2030 climate targets and, importantly, it ensures reliable and secure replacement generation is in place as ageing and unreliable coal power stations shut.
“Supercharging the CIS minimises negative impacts on consumers, which is the most equitable solution for all of us during this once-in-a-lifetime energy transition.
“Extending the CIS gives investors the certainty they need to accelerate our energy transition, a clear on ramp to the sunset of the RET and few flow on effects to other investors, so it won’t distort the market.”
Simon Corbell, CEO of the Clean Energy Investor Group (CEIG)
“Clean energy investors strongly welcome this major policy initiative which will unlock significant new investment in new renewable energy generation and storage projects across Australia.
“CEIG especially welcomes the measures to deliver regular auctions at 6 monthly intervals until 2027, this is the longer term certainty investors, and the energy grid needs, to achieve a timely transition.”
Contact details:
Jemimah Taylor on 0478 924 425, jemimah.taylor@climatemediacentre.org.au
or Sean Kennedy on 0447 121 378, sean.kennedy@climatemediacentre.org.au