Australia stands at a crucial juncture in its energy history, writes Greenbank CEO Ria O’Hehir.
In 2015, renewable energy contributed 14.3 per cent of the National Electricity Market’s total generation. In the past 12 months? 32.1 per cent. A growth of over 124 per cent in just six years. The question however remains, what caused this growth and how can we ensure it continues? In my experience, the answer to both questions lies in incentivising and rewarding the sustainable actions of you and me. For this reason, we must ensure the schemes that reward these actions continue to do so.
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In just the past year, Australia officially retained its status as world leader in the uptake of solar power per capita, installing more than 3,000MW of rooftop solar just last year. Australia has unfortunately also, during this period, received the lowest score of all countries on Earth for climate policy on the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI). The discrepancy between these statistics reveals a simple conclusion—the accelerated renewables journey Australia is on, is one led by the decisions and actions of everyday Aussies. We must continue to support them. In my experience as CEO of Greenbank and an expert in trading energy efficiency certificates, schemes such as the Small-scale Renewable Energy Target are the best way to do this.
Simply put, ensuring the continuation of the highly successful Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme beyond 2030 is one of the most simple and effective ways we can continue to support renewables growth in both large and small-scale projects.
From its first introductions in 1997, labelled then the Safeguarding the Future: Australia’s Response to Climate Change plan, the schemes’ aim remains unchanged—to ensure that Australia continues to meet and exceed renewable milestones. The first version of the RET scheme as we know it was introduced in 2001. Its purpose? Encourage total renewable energy generation to hit just 2 per cent.
As I approach my 18th year in the renewables industry, I can safely say that we have come a long way since the RET’s conception. I have personally seen numerous iterations of the RET scheme introduced, all with various and ambitious targets. From 2001 to 2009 to 2020 targets, all of them were hit. As we approach the ambitious goal of net zero by 2050, I ask what sense it makes that instead of moving these reliable goalposts forward, we would remove them entirely after 2030?
With the announcement of Australia’s net-zero by 2050 plan late last year, the Commonwealth Government championed a ‘Technology not Taxes’ approach. Unfortunately, much of the conversation concerning this approach talks in terms of far-off, undisclosed technology that will somehow help Australia reach its goals. However, I argue that this technology already exists, and it exists in the homes of many Australians, in technologies such as solar panels and solar hot water heaters, which when installed are rewarded via, STCs, ACCUs, VEECs and most recently ESCs.
In the last few years, we have witnessed an explosion in the certificate market. The success of these certificates, which reward the deployment of renewable energy such as wind and solar, or the development of projects that sequester carbon; for example, reforestation or soil sequestration, show us that schemes such as RET are crucial to the success of Australia’s transition.
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When it comes to Australia’s responsibility to meet its carbon reduction and renewable energy transition targets, we cannot afford to disappoint the world, nor can we afford to fix what isn’t broken. As a nation we must renew our commitment to the RET scheme, acknowledging it as a significant driver for renewable energy investment for both large-scale and small-scale projects. If we are to keep our promise to future generations, we must ensure that the current RET 2030 goal is renewed in alignment with our net-zero ambitions toward 2050.
