Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and environment minister Lily D’Amboriso have announced a massive $1 billion state investment for renewable energy projects, to be overseen by a state-owned company, in an effort to meet a 95% renewable energy target by 2035.
Andrews said that if re-elected in November, the Labor government would revive the State Electricity Commission (SEC), which will be responsible for developing new renewables projects in Victoria.
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An initial investment of $1 billion would be made to deliver 4.5GW of power through renewable energy projects that will replace the capacity of the coal-fired Loy Yang A power station, which AGL Energy will close in 2035—a decade earlier than planned.
“One power station is closing, many smaller power stations will take its place,” Andrews said.
“Those power stations won’t be for profit, they’ll be for people. They’ll be not owned by a private company. They’ll be owned by everyone. Everyone will benefit from that.”
The Clean Energy Council welcomed the announcement.
“Setting a target of 95% renewable energy by 2035 sends a powerful signal to renewable energy investors that Victoria is determined to deploy large amounts of new renewable energy generation and manage the phase-out of coal-fired generation,” Clean Energy Council CEO Kane Thornton said.
“Victoria is replacing failing, costly and dirty coal-fired power with clean, reliable, low-cost renewable energy. Today’s announcement builds on the recently announced legislated renewable energy storage targets—2.6GW by 2030 and 6.3GW by 2035—and illustrates sensible planning that will keep the lights on for Victorians.
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“On the back of Tuesday’s announcement of a massive investment to accelerate transmission links, Victoria now has a strong roadmap for delivering the energy transition that is critical to both climate action and the state’s economic prosperity.
“This is the renewable energy ambition that the Clean Energy Council has been advocating for, and Victoria is now leading the way,” Thornton said.
