ACT crowned the renewables capital of Australia

A new report from the Climate Council describes the ACT as the renewables capital of Australia, with the territory’s recently implemented renewable energy policies resulting in the country’s lowest electricity prices and the creation of more than 1000 jobs.

The report additionally finds that Australia’s wind sector would likely have struggled to continue without the support of the ACT during extended periods of federal uncertainty. As explained by Climate Councillor and energy expert Andrew Stock, “At the end of last year, the only wind projects under construction in Australia were those supported by the ACT’s policy.

“And while more than 5000 jobs in renewable energy were lost nationally between 2012 and 2015, the ACT’s policy created more than 1000 jobs in construction across the ACT, Victoria, South Australia and NSW.”

The report also found:

• The ACT is on track to acquire enough large-scale renewable energy to meet its 100% renewable electricity target by 2020.
• The ACT has supported the development of 640 MW of large-scale solar and wind capacity.
• The reverse auction process has delivered record-low wind and solar electricity prices, and has provided transparency around the low cost of renewable electricity in Australia.
• Households in the ACT will continue to pay the lowest electricity prices in Australia even with the small additional cost of supporting renewable energy.
• The ACT is supporting the installation of 36 MW of energy storage across more than 5000 households and businesses by 2020 — the largest battery storage rollout in Australia.
• The ACT is the first place in Australia where both major political parties have provided bipartisan support to a state- or territory-based target.

“The ACT is certainly different from other states, being small in size and population and with no major industries or fossil-fuelled generation,” said Climate Councillor and ex-ARENA chair Greg Bourne.

“But the ACT’s approach to sourcing large amounts of renewable electricity in a short period of time, while also delivering a range of economic and community outcomes, provides a model for other Australian states, the Northern Territory and our cities to learn from.”

The report can be found at https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/act-report.