Climate emergency: Mornington Peninsula shire wants homes powered by wind, solar

Wind and solar would be used to power homes under an ambitious plan to ditch fossil fuels.

Many businesses, such as Crittenden Estate Wines at Dromana, have already embraced solar energy.

A Melbourne council has refused to back down from a radical plan to phase out natural gas for cooking, heating and hot water on private properties in less than 20 years.

Mornington Peninsula Shire council rejected a plea by one of its own to reassure residents that they would not be forced to ditch gas until a “safe, affordable, efficient and reliable alternative” was available.

It also baulked at acknowledging that vulnerable residents couldn’t afford to switch to alternate power sources such as solar.

Cr Steve Holland asked the council to clarify its position after the community erupted last month over revelations the shire’s Climate Emergency Plan aimed to replace gas with solar and wind power.

“Our community deserves to know what the goals of this council are and the community deserves to know the full effect of our climate targets and strategy documents,” Cr Holland said.

“The cost of converting an average home from gas cooking, heating and hot water to alternative power is in the tens of thousands of dollars.”

A Leader poll revealed 94 per cent of the 846 respondents did not want the council developing energy policy.

However, Cr Holland’s request was voted down by seven votes to four.

Deputy mayor Sarah Race, who did not support Cr Holland, said the council did not have the power to regulate energy use making the debate a “non-issue”.

“If (US rapper) Jay-Z were a councillor he would say the council has 99 issues and this ain’t one,” she said.

However, Cr Holland argued that the council was already working towards gaining the power to regulate energy use through planning controls.

In June it decided to join the Community Alliance Council Alliance for a Sustainable Built Environment (CASBE) campaign to raise environmentally sustainable design standards for new buildings.

“The council is spending tens of thousands of dollars a year to join groups such as CASBE to progress policy the community doesn’t want,” Cr Holland said.

Cr David Gill said it was up to the council to “put the issue out there” and encourage people to “get creative” and find other power sources.

“Our alternative is destroying the planet,” he said.

Cr Susan Bissinger voted with Cr Holland saying that it was not appropriate for the council to phase out gas until a safe, reliable and affordable alternative was available.

“If we’re relying on wind and solar be prepared for the Green Wedge to be filled with wind turbines,” she said.