Environment
Solar advocates slam Labor’s car rebate plan
Green groups have criticised the Federal Government’s decision to pull funding from solar energy schemes in order to pay for its plan to remove old cars from Australia’s roads.
If re-elected, the Government says it will offer owners of pre-1995 vehicles a $2,000 rebate for upgrading to more fuel efficient cars.
But solar energy advocates, the Greens and the Coalition have slammed the proposal, as more than half of the funding for it will be taken from the Government’s solar infrastructure program.
Australian Solar Energy Society chief executive John Grimes says it makes no sense.
“You’re taking money away from a 100 per cent emission free electricity generation program and putting it into reducing emissions from cars – but reducing them, not eliminating them,” he said.
“Infrastructure projects and clean-and-green collar jobs of the future have now been either scrapped or scaled back.”
The Greens say they support the idea but not the way it is funded. They say funding should instead come from fossil fuel subsidies given to big polluters.
The Opposition’s Environment Spokesman, Greg Hunt, says the policy could have a damaging economic impact.
He says the program will effectively take money away from Australian infrastructure and give it to foreign car manufacturers.
“In Germany and in the United States, the cash for clunkers program has been a disaster,” he said.
“It created a boom and then a bust. This is exactly what happened with the pink batts program, a boom and then a bust.
“The Prime Minister must explain today why she is taking $220 million from the solar flagships fund for Australian renewable energy and instead she’s going to pay 90 per cent of that money [to companies] such as Mercedes, such as BMW.”
Senator Christine Milne
Labor steals from solar to pay for old clunkers
Transport emissions are a major contributor to greenhouse gasses and need to be addressed, however stealing from the solar industry to pay cash for clunkers is the right policy but the wrong purse, Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Christine Milne said today
“Prime Minister Gillard’s refusal to legislate for a carbon tax means that she does not have a source of funding for climate initiatives and it is completely wrong to take money out of Australia’s renewable energy future to pay to take clunkers off the road.
“The Greens would take the money from coal via a carbon tax, or from fuel excise, whereas the Prime Minister’s rhetoric on climate change is becoming even more hollow as she prepares to attack the solar industry one again.
“Prime Minister Gillard seems to think that nobody cares if only two of the 52 applications in the solar flagship program are funded, bur she will find that Australians do care about the solar industry and will not look kindly on this daylight robbery from the solar sector.”
And,
Senator Christine Milne
Greens’ plan for 100% renewable energy
The Australian Greens today launched a policy to plan Australia’s transformation into a 100% renewable energy powerhouse over the coming decades.
“Australia can harness our tremendous resources of the sun, wind, ocean, earth and human ingenuity to replace our reliance on coal with 100% renewable energy within decades,” Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said.
“But, to make that transformation rapidly and efficiently, we need a plan: we need to know where our biggest and best renewable energy resources are; we need streamlined consultation and approvals processes that bring communities together instead of dividing them; and we need jobs and infrastructure in the right place at the right time.
“The Greens are proposing that we start working on that plan immediately so we can have a 100% renewable Australia as soon as possible.”
The Planning for 100% Renewable Energy policy would task Infrastructure Australia with:
• mapping Australia’s renewable energy resource;
• bringing together governments, communities and developers in streamlined consultation and approvals processes;
• creating renewable energy development zones, funding necessary grid infrastructure; and
• preparing a scoping study for achieving 100% renewable energy powering Australia by 2030, 2040 and 2050.
This policy would work in conjunction with a gross national feed-in tariff, giving certainty to investors in all forms of renewable energy, and an increased renewable energy target.
“We need policies to drive renewable energy and an infrastructure plan to enable the expansion to 100%. We need a plan, not ad hoc grants cobbled together for an election.
“Right now, Australia’s renewable energy policies are uncoordinated and directionless as well as unambitious. Unless this changes, renewable energy will always stay on the sidelines even though global experience shows it is already technically capable of replacing coal and gas.
“If new power lines are built to a new wind farm before we work out if other developments will happen in the area, either the power lines will have to be duplicated at great expense or the later developments won’t happen.
“If we have the 100% renewables goal in mind as we go, and we have done the grunt work of mapping and consultation in advance, we can avoid these expensive mistakes and instead find the synergies that will make the transformation easier, cheaper and faster.
“Renewable energy development zones have been tremendously popular and effective in parts of the USA and Europe, cutting red tape and bringing communities, governments and developers together instead of setting them at loggerheads.
“We know already that some of our best resources for baseload solar power match up with both huge geothermal energy reserves and wind. As well, some of our best wind resources are in the same place as great potential ocean power resources. We need a proper mapping exercise to overlay this with the existing grid and reasonable access to population centres.
“Renewable energy technologies are ready to power Australia. We have to be ready for them.”
Greens Senate candidate, Peter Whish Wilson, says planning for 100% renewable energy offers Tasmania an exciting opportunity.
“We have the potential to be a renewable energy powerhouse. We have the elements, the people and the will to be a world leader in harnessing power from natural, renewable sources. All we need is a government who is willing to act.”
Download Greens policy:
Policy_initiative_-_100%_renewable_energy_(2).pdf
Labor:
Liberals: