Tasmania’s long-vaunted second interconnector could be shelved as a result of the federal government’s new energy policy, state Labor has said.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Furthermore, the Coalition’s newly announced National Energy Guarantee has prompted some Tasmanian MHAs to ponder the policy’s potential impact on wind farm developments in the state.
RELATED COVERAGE:
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull outlined the NEG, which he said would “end the climate wars”.
The NEG requires retailers to ensure both reliable supply and reduced emissions.
What this also means is that subsidies and incentives for renewable development have essentially come to an end, making it incumbent on retailers to ensure they are doing their bit to help the nation meet its obligations as a signatory to the Paris Climate Accord.
Opposition MHAs in Tasmania have claimed this new policy would stymie wind farm developments already in train here, such as those at Cattle Hill, Granville Harbour and Robbins Island.
Labor energy spokesman Scott Bacon said the NEG would “sacrifice hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars’ worth of investment in Tasmanian renewable energy”.
“Projects like the Robbins Island wind farm and even a second interconnector are now under a serious cloud,” Mr Bacon said.
He called on Energy Minister Guy Barnett to state whether or not he supported Chief Scientist Alan Finkel’s proposed Clean Energy Target, which the federal government rejected.
Mr Barnett said the Hodgman government was “far from convinced” by the Coalition’s new energy policy.
“The Hodgman government has made it clear that when it comes to energy, we will always put Tasmanians first,” he said.
“That means lower prices, energy security and developing more renewable energy generation in Tasmania.
“Any federal energy policy needs to meet those aims for Tasmania before receiving our support.”
Mr Barnett said he had been briefed on the NEG by federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg on Tuesday, but stressed that the state government needed “further detail” about the plan before it offered its support.
Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the NEG and the rejection of a CET was “an attack on renewables” and demonstrated that “Canberra [is] backing in the coal industry”.
“If you remove renewable energy certificates from the equation and don’t have a [CET] in place after 2020, it provides significant disincentives to investors in renewables and that will impact on Tasmania which needs more diversity in its renewables mix,” she said.
“So much for ‘Tasmanians first’.”