Liberals would let Federal Government set SA’s renewable energy target
EXCLUSIVE: South Australia’s “dangerous” renewable energy target of 50 per cent supply by 2025 would be abolished under a Liberal State Government, and replaced with one set by Canberra.
- Massive power shortfalls predicted for next summer
- AEMO won’t take responsibility for rolling blackout
- Blame game over deliberate power cuts during heatwave
- Is your area on the blackout hit list?
- PM calls Weatherill ‘lazy, hypocritical’ on power
SOUTH Australia’s “dangerous” renewable energy target of 50 per cent supply by 2025 would be abolished under a Liberal State Government, and replaced with one set by Canberra.
The Advertiser can reveal Opposition Leader Steven Marshall will make the pledge today, a move he says will help lower SA prices and restore stability to the state’s fragile network.
It will come as part of a united front from Liberal state oppositions across the country, as Queensland and Victorian conservative leaders also move to bin state-set green power targets.
SA already gets more than 40 per cent of its power from intermittent renewable sources, mostly wind.
That is a nation-leading level, which energy experts say has contributed to higher prices and the risk of blackouts by undermining baseload power like the shuttered Port Augusta coal plant.
The Federal Government’s renewable target is currently 23.5 per cent green power by 2020.
That means SA is already easily ahead of the national target, and likely to be for some time.
Mr Marshall said he accepted the science of climate change but Premier Jay Weatherill had embarked on an “ideological” crusade which threatened SA jobs, blackouts and high bills.
Mr Marshall said he would keep “every single option on the table”, but only approve new renewable energies which were not going to worsen power prices or stability problems.
“We don’t want to do anything which is going to increase the fragility of our energy grid in SA,” he said.
“That was the deliberate policy of Jay Weatherill and his government.
“It has delivered the highest electricity prices and the most unreliable grid in the nation.
“If a Marshall Liberal Government is elected in March 2018, we will move to immediately abolish the state renewable energy target.
“We believe there should be a renewable energy target, but that it’s best set at the federal level. We don’t want SA to be at a competitive disadvantage.”
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said SA was a “failed” experiment in the fast uptake of unreliable energy, one federal Labor Leader Bill Shorten wanted to repeat across the nation.
“The result of unrealistic state-based targets has been huge power bills for families and businesses and unreliable supply,” Mr Turnbull said.
“With a businesslike, commonsense approach we can keep the lights on, keep power bills affordable and reduce emissions.”
Mr Weatherill last week said national market rules, including those which heavily subsidise wind power, were failing to deliver a smooth transition to secure and lower-carbon technologies.
“You’re squeezing out cleaner gas, which would solve all of the problems,” he said.
“Gas is the transitional fuel. What we have is a national energy market which goes to wind first, coal second and squeezes gas out.
“It essentially punishes our cleaner gas-fired generators.”
The State Government’s RenewablesSA says it wants “further growth of SA’s renewable energy industry” and “works to remove barriers to investment through policy and regulatory changes”.
It says the policies have already delivered $6.6 billion of investment and “the vision for the state” involves “unlocking the full potential of SA’s resources, energy and renewable assets”.