A group of Melbourne councils are joining together to evade renewable policies of the government, directly appealing to clean-energy providers.
As part of a national initiative to boost renewable energy program, the City of Melbourne, City of Maribyrnong and City Of Yarra will held a discussion with clean energy producers.
Earlier, the trio of councils have partnered with Mirvac and Federation Square for the project.
Renewable providers will be enquired if they can supply 100GWh of energy equivalent to around 250,000 solar panels or 15 wind turbines at similar or lower cost.
The consortium plans to find projects that are all set to proceed but have been obstructed by any kind of uncertainty over the renewable energy target.
Victoria’s renewable energy industry has been hit by severe restrictions on new wind farm developments.
By joining together, councils and businesses can offer a demand for renewable providers so that their projects go ahead.
The City of Melbourne has a goal of zero net emissions by 2020. This target is supplemented by a goal of sourcing 25 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2018.
In Melbourne’s CBD, only 5 percent of this target has been achieved through rooftop solar panels, forcing the council to search for more renewable projects.
The new approach is expected to counteract the ailing renewable energy policies and the council will test the market to find out what the price is. They will be on a par with fossil fuels or cheaper, because then the business case becomes a no brainer because renewables are cheaper than fossil fuels in the long-term, stated, Arron Wood, councilor, City of Melbourne.
There’s been the removal of the carbon price and uncertainty over the RET, meaning that in quick time a $1bn industry has ground to a halt. A model can be demonstrated that isn’t just a purchase of green energy, it can drive investment in new renewable energy, said Wood.
Other councils in Melbourne and across Australia need to look closely at the concept in order to bolster renewable uptake. The City of Sydney, for example, has a 30 percent renewable energy target by 2030, he added.
Most metropolitan councils in Australia have a renewable energy target. Cities are well set-up to band together for large-scale renewable generation, said Wood.
WestWind said it welcomed the initiative. Tobi Geiger, managing director of WestWind, said there should be plenty of interest from solar and wind providers.
There are around 10 projects in Victoria that would go for it, predominantly the wind sector because there is enough wind all year round in Victoria, said, Geiger.
Activities need to be taken back because of uncertainty over the future of the RET and all have been Abbott-proofing the company by looking at opportunities in renewable energy that don’t require government support, he added.
This kind of partnership will do well as long as there is a recalcitrant government. There’s a lack of government leadership so councils are stepping into the vacuum. The more Neanderthals that go back to fossil fuels, the more of these things can be seen, added Geiger.
Sabeena Wahid
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