Energy Policy

I want to see energy solutions that put the community first, reduce power bills, and grow our economy.

Energy development done right, in the right place

1. Renewable energy development and storage done right, in the right place, for the benefit of all Tasmanians.

This means:

• Genuinely consulting with the community before deciding to support a development
• Ensuring the development is sustainable and does not result in habitat loss for threatened species or valuable farmland
• No special treatment for foreign-owned renewable energy developers
• Applying circular economic principles to new developments to ensure waste is recycled

I don’t support the Robbins Island wind farm because it fails the community and the environment and requires considerable infrastructure to connect it to the grid.

I am not opposed to all large renewable energy projects. I recognise the need for affordable and dispatchable renewable energy for our major industrials and for new businesses wanting to set up in Tasmania. But it needs to be done right, with proper community consultation, in the right place, for the benefit of Tasmanians – not for export to the mainland.

2. Investment into Tidal Energy research and development.

Affordable Electricity Prices

3. An end to Marinus Link — it’s a dud deal.

Marinus Link and the related North-West Transmission Development are massively expensive projects designed to benefit Hydro Tasmania, foreign-owned wind farm developers, and electricity consumers on the mainland, paid for by Victorian and Tasmanian electricity consumers.

We can’t afford this $5 billion project, and we don’t need it. It will only drive up network charges on power bills by up to 40%, and the real beneficiaries will be power generators and mainlanders.

The State Government has already committed $400 million towards Marinus and the North-West Transmission Development. I want to see some of this money reallocated to pay for energy solutions that reduce power bills, particularly for Tasmanians who are doing it tough.

4. Tasmanian publicly owned Government Business Enterprises (GBEs)

I don’t support privatisation of Hydro Tasmania or TasNetworks. These are essential services and must remain Tasmanian-owned and managed.

5. An independent electricity exports review

This should focus on our long-term energy needs and include a full cost-benefit analysis of electricity trading with Victoria compared with on-island energy generation only, to meet Tasmania’s future needs.

Infrastructure we need

6. Strategically increasing renewable energy generation with proper planning and analysis

This means:

• Avoid developing an excess of electricity infrastructure
• Ensure our electricity infrastructure is more resilient to irregular weather patterns and increased risk of natural disasters

The public needs to know that the total wind farms proposed for Tasmania, if fully developed to 7GW (25,000GWh), would represent a tripling of our energy generation capacity. This would far exceed Tasmania’s future energy needs and the legislated Renewable Energy Target of 200% renewable energy by 2040. This doesn’t even include Bass Strait offshore wind proposals.

We saw the impact of the massive power outage after the August storms last year. One of the recommendations from the Independent Review of that outage was for TasNetworks to prepare a Network Resilience Strategy. I also want to see them prioritise investment in building greater resilience into the network.

Powering the community and the consumer

7. Rooftop solar and battery targets and incentives

The Government needs to:

• Set rooftop solar and battery targets
• Ensure TasNetworks is adequately planning and supporting consumer energy resources in the energy transition

Solar energy is the cheapest form of renewable energy and reduces the need for future investment in the grid, yet Tasmania has the lowest rate of rooftop solar uptake in the country. To ensure the State Government prioritises growth of rooftop solar, it needs to set solar and battery installation targets and report against them.

TasNetworks is a key player in supporting an increased uptake of consumer energy resources and community batteries, but they’ve been too focused on delivering Marinus Link and the North-West Transmission Development. I want to see their Member Statement of Expectations rewritten to ensure they prioritise consumer energy resources, not just big infrastructure projects.

8. More Government support for renters and people on low incomes to access energy efficiency improvements

• Minimum energy efficiency standards in rental properties
• Greater financial incentives for landlords to improve energy efficiency
• Extend the interest-free loan repayment period to install solar and batteries

I want to see much greater investment by the State Government in improving household energy efficiency, particularly for renters and low-income households. That’s how you drive down power bills and improve health outcomes. Deloitte modelling released by ACOSS last year shows this kind of investment can also grow the economy.

Currently, the State Government provides interest-free loans of up to $10,000 to install rooftop solar or batteries in homes. The current repayment period is 3 years. I want to see this extended to 5 or 7 years. For rental properties, I will ask Treasury to model other options — including recovering the loan on sale of the house, or providing tax incentives — to encourage landlords to invest in rooftop solar and batteries.

9. More rooftop solar on social housing combined with community batteries

There are opportunities through the recently announced Commonwealth Community Solar Bank Initiative and the Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative to fund more rooftop solar on social housing and to build more community batteries.

The Commonwealth Government has already funded a community battery in Shorewell Park, built in April. It’s designed to store excess solar energy generated by household rooftop systems during the day and make it available in the evening, when power prices peak. The problem is that only four of the houses connected to this battery currently have solar panels. I want to see the State Government offer solar panels to all houses connected to this battery and use it as a case study on how community batteries impact the grid and household power bills. If successful, it could be rolled out in other social housing developments along with rooftop solar panels.