Greens Welcome WA Government Aboard on Renewables
Thursday 22 August 2013
Greens WA spokesperson on Climate Change and Energy, Robin Chapple MLC, today congratulated the Energy Minister, Mike Nahan, on his call for reform of the state’s energy policy.
Speaking after day 1 of the Energy in WA 2013 conference, Mr Chapple said “Mr Nahan is to be commended for his recent statements in support of a fresh approach to the mix of energy policy in WA, with particular reference to the role that renewable inputs can play in electricity generation.
“I note with some satisfaction, the minister’s acknowledgement at this week’s energy conference, that the cost of renewables is indeed declining at such a rate that large fossil fuel consumers like Verve now need to sit up and take notice.
“The Minister’s recently announced inquiry into the place of renewables in the WA energy generation sector could be a giant step forward for WA energy policy.
“However the inquiry must be a genuine attempt to examine the realities of the energy marketplace in the coming years, not the half-baked prejudiced rhetoric we’ve become used to from the Barnett/Grylls government over the past five years.
“It needs to look at where wholesale gas prices are heading, and how renewables are now a realistic source of cheap power for the future - and the energy crisis looming for the off-grid miners who are driving our economy from the Mining and Pastoral region, which I represent.
“We just can’t afford to let our energy policy drift aimlessly along on its current path to a high-cost, high-polluting future.
“But there’s good news about renewables all around – it just needs the Energy Minister’s advisors to learn from it. For instance there’s the recent AEMO report into how renewables could power 100% of Australia’s major electricity grid, and survey results which show the overwhelming preference of West Aussies for solar and wind power.
“Luckily for the Minister, the Greens have a detailed plan that shows how WA can have 100% renewable energy by 2029”, Mr Chapple concluded.
Energy 2029 plan: http://www.greenswa.net.au/energy2029
