RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGET
1305. Hon TIM CLIFFORD to the minister representing the
Minister for Energy:
Since implementing domestic
renewable energy targets, the renewable electricity generation of Australia's
states and territories has notably increased, indicating the effectiveness of
establishing such targets.
(1) Given WA's renewable energy generation is
the lowest in Australia at 8.9 per cent, why does the WA Labor
government continue to claim there is no need for a WA-based renewable energy
target?
(2) Based on the
results from other Australian states and territories, does the minister concede
that domestic renewable energy targets support the increase in domestic
renewable electricity generation?
(3) If the
minister does not agree that renewable energy targets are an effective measure
in supporting the increase of renewable electricity generation, could the
minister explain why WA, which does not have a renewable energy target, has the
lowest renewable energy generation in the country?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON
replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following information has been provided to me
by the Minister for Energy.
(1) In WA's
main electricity grid, the south west interconnected system, 34 per cent of
installed generation capacity is renewable, with roughly half of that coming
from rooftop solar. The other half is made up by large-scale wind and solar.
This is expected to at least triple over the next two decades without any
policy intervention.
(2) Although a renewable energy target was required to
kickstart the renewable energy industry, such has been the rate of decrease in the cost of renewables
over the past few years that they are now the cheapest method of generating electricity. Accordingly, there is
no longer a need for a subsidy by way of a target for this form of generation.
(3) The challenge
we now face is integrating and managing what will be more numerous and diverse
sources of electricity so that consumers receive a continuous and stable supply
of power, which is also required for network safety. The McGowan government's
energy transformation strategy addresses this issue, thereby enabling even more
renewable sources of generation to connect to the grid to the maximum extent
technically possible.