The federal government has unveiled plans to allocate 1.7GW of Australia’s largest tender for renewable energy projects to boost sources in Victoria and Tasmania.
Tasmania will receive at least 300MW of new renewable energy projects in this tender, while Victoria will receive 1.4GW, enough to power about 700,000 households.
“Victoria has done the heavy lifting to drive more cheap renewables into the grid,” Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D'Ambrosio said as she welcomed the energy deal.
“It’s great to have the Commonwealth government on board to help us build even more renewable energy projects and deliver cheap and reliable power to homes and businesses across Victoria.”
Ms. D’Ambrosio said the state has a climate action target of 95 percent renewables by 2035, achievable through industry partnerships and private investments.
Minister for Energy and Renewables Nick Duigan also expressed his appreciation of the Tasmanian energy deal.
“I look forward to working with the Australian Government to finalise the agreement of the CIS in Tasmania,” Mr. Duigan said. “We have a strong renewable energy past, with the CIS assisting to drive our renewable energy future to meet our growing demand and make a meaningful contribution to the national energy transition.”
The energy boosts are part of the Reliable Renewable Plan, which aims to unlock and fast-track new energy investments in individual states.
The federal government intends to acquire 32GW of reliable renewables by 2030, under the Capacity Investment Scheme, which consists of 23 GW of renewable energy generation and 9 GW of dispatchable storage capacity.
It is the main policy action made by the Australian government to reach a renewable energy target of 82 percent in the electricity grid by 2030.
Under the scheme, the government will seek bids for six monthly competitive tenders until 2027. The final winners of the auction will be announced in December.
The Australian Energy Market Operator was designated as a service provider to administer CIS competitive tender processes.
At least 2.2GW is allocated for New South Wales, which urgently needs new capacity as the nation’s biggest coal fleet is poised to shut down over the next decade.
Other energy deals sealed recently include deliveries of at least 300MW for South Australia and 500MW for Western Australia. This leaves Queensland without any specified allocation.
The remaining 1.8GW of the total 6GW of new variable renewable energy projects will be granted to the next best bids.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said the Tasmanian and Victorian energy agreements will guarantee energy security and combat barriers preventing the entry of renewable energy.
Coalition Calls for Nuclear
Meanwhile, the opposition has positioned itself as advocates for adding nuclear to Australia’s renewable energy transition.Push for Nuclear Power Criticised
However, Mr. Bowen criticised opposition leader Peter Dutton’s push for nuclear power, saying that it will only increase the burden for taxpayers.Some analysts have also expressed disagreement with Mr. Dutton’s call for nuclear.
“Nuclear power is an expensive electricity generation option,” Johanna Bowyer, Australian Electricity Lead Analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, told The Epoch Times.
“It’s expected that getting a nuclear small modular reactor (SMR) up and running in Australia would take a long time—around 15 years. So this option would not help Australia quickly replace retiring coal-fired power stations, which AEMO forecasts will all retire over the next 15 years or so.”
Ethinvest Philanthropy Director Blair Palese agreed, calling the campaign for nuclear power nothing but a distraction.
She told The Epoch Times that the Coalition had prevented Australia from “seizing the economic and job opportunities decarbonising offers us due to the influence of the coal and gas sector.”
Meanwhile, Ms. Palese commended the Albanese government’s Future Made in Australia Act but conveyed disappointment about the Future Gas Strategy.
“Unfortunately, the government’s gas announcement encouraging new gas projects until 2050 is a an outragous cancelling out of any climate efforts it has taken and shows a sersious lack of understanding of the need to set a clear path for businesses and investors that Australia will seize the incredible opportunity of global decarbonising.”
Ms. Palese emphasised that Australia has the natural resources needed to transition into clean energy, but highlighted lack of leadership and proper investments as barriers.
“Beyond moving to clean energy at home, Australia has the opportunity to become an exporter of low and no carbon solutions such as green hydrogen and ammonia, green iron ore and batteries that other countries, including our Asian trading partners, need to meet their own net zero commitments,” Ms. Palese said.
“While I believe the current government understands this, it is not yet clear if it can move past the influence of fossil fuels fast enough to ensure we grab this opportunity.”
