Australia

Australia has committed through its Renewable Energy Target (RET) Scheme to a mandate that 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity supply will be sourced from renewable energy by 2020. The RET expands the existing mandatory renewable energy target by more than four times, to 45,000 GWh in 2020. The scheme is enacted through the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Act 2009 and administered by the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator (ORER). The scheme includes Solar Credits which assist in the upfront costs of installing small scale renewable energy systems such as solar photovoltaic, wind and mini hydro.

The federal government has committed to a long term emission reduction target of 60 per cent below 2000 levels by 2050. This is proposed to be achieved through a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) – a cap and trade emissions trading scheme planned to commence in July 2011. The CPRS medium term national emissions reduction target will be 5 per cent of 2000 emissions by 2020 unless an international agreement is brokered, in which case it could rise to 25 percent by 2020. The CPRS legislation is currently before the Australian Parliament, but no longer has bipartisan support. The scheme will utilise the existing National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007, to monitor, report and audit the quantity of greenhouse gases emitted by liable entities.

Complementary measures have also been introduced. The Clean Energy Initiative provides funding for the development of low emission energy technologies through the creation of the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy, a Solar Flagships Program and a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Flagships Program. The Solar Flagships Program will support the construction and demonstration of a selected number of large scale solar thermal and solar photovoltaic power plants in Australia, while the CCS Flagships Program will support CCS projects globally.

To accelerate the uptake of energy efficiency measures across the Australian business and household community, a number of measures have been introduced by the federal government. Emerging out of amendments made to the CPRS legislation is the possible development of a broad-based energy efficiency market mechanism in 2010. The Climate Change Action Fund provides funding for businesses to undertake energy efficiency measures from 1 July 2009. The Australian Carbon Trust will give households the opportunity to invest directly in the reduction of the country’s emissions, and to drive the improved energy efficiency of buildings. Households are supported to reduce their emissions through the Energy Efficient Homes Package which provides funding to install solar water heaters and insulation; and the Green Loans Program.

The National Strategy on Energy Efficiency was endorsed by The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in July 2009 and will aid business and households to transition to a low carbon economy. The strategy aims to improve minimum standards for energy efficiency, accelerate the introduction of new technologies through regulatory incentives, and address identified barriers to energy efficiency. The Strategy increases the stringency of Minimum Energy Performance Standards and mandatory energy rating labelling for appliances and equipment; increases the minimum energy efficiency requirements for buildings through an enhanced Building Code of Australia for 2010; and introduces mandatory disclosure of a building’s energy efficiency. The Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) program was introduced in 2006 to improve energy efficiency via a mandatory reporting scheme for corporations to report on energy saving opportunities.

In addition to the federal government incentives, state and territory governments also have their own initiatives with some states having state-based renewable energy targets and energy efficiency targets. While there is no national feed-in tariff in Australia, state and territory governments have introduced their own feed-in tariffs for small scale renewable energy systems, some of which are still to be legislated while others have been in place for over a year.

Energy infrastructure is a crucial part of any country’s economic prosperity and the development of an Energy White Paper will further develop a framework for Australia’s transformation to a low carbon economy. Smart grids will create a more efficient energy network which will allow improved integration of renewable energy into the grid and help consumers better manage their electricity consumption. Australia’s national roll out of smart meters is a key step in the development of these smart grids.