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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-06-20 Daily Xml
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Matters of Interest

Renewable Energy

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:29): I rise today to talk about the inconsistent policy direction of the government on renewable energy. The Premier in another place promised to kill Labor's virtual power plant on his first day as Premier, telling ABC Radio National, 'No, that's not part of our agenda.' Late last month, the energy minister in another place told the Australian Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition, 'It's very important to be clear about this—we are honouring the existing commitments around the Tesla virtual power plant.'

We know that the former Labor government's plan to partner with Tesla to install solar panels and batteries on 50,000 homes would have created the world's biggest virtual power plant. Up to 25,000 systems were to be installed in Housing Trust properties. This meant that many South Australians could benefit from increased generation in the South Australian energy market, with lower prices and increased energy stability.

Analysis by Frontier Economics shows that the virtual power plants are expected to lower energy bills for participating households by 30 per cent. Since this embarrassing backflip from the government, we have not heard much about the government's plans to roll out the Tesla virtual power plant.

Indeed, we also have not heard much from the government about implementing its own scheme that was campaigned on in the recent election. There is, of course, a good reason why the Premier and his colleagues have little to say on their energy policy. AGL's latest power price data shows that the Premier's promise to cut household power bills by $302 is in ruins. AGL has reported on a price reduction of 0.4 per cent in 2018-19, which is well below the 6.9 per cent reduction used to justify the Liberal party's promise of a $302 reduction.

Who could forget that an independent inquiry conducted by the Electoral Commission found that the Liberal's promise to cut power bills by $302 was misleading, and the Liberal Party subsequently had to retract and withdraw materials promoting this promise. The actual data from electricity companies show that South Australians will not receive the power price reductions they were promised by the Liberals. Nevertheless, this is a promise that the Premier has made and, at the very least, he needs to explain to the people of South Australia how he intends to deliver on this promise notwithstanding that energy retailers have discredited him.

South Australians deserve to know how exactly a subsidised household battery scheme is going to work. There has been little to no policy detail released on this particular part of the Liberals' energy plan. The Liberal Party has said that it will create a $100 million household battery fund which would provide grants averaging $2,500 per grant. The Liberal Party also announced that applicants would be means tested, yet this government has still failed to properly answer the following: how is the government proposing to means test applicants; has it set a threshold and on what basis has it determined a threshold?

I remain concerned that low income earning households will not be able to afford the substantial upfront payment required to install a household battery storage system even with a $2,500 grant. This policy shuts low income households out of the market. It is poorly formed and poorly articulated.

Finally, I confess to being somewhat bemused at the Hon. Mr Ridgway's sudden enthusiasm for renewable energy. Some time ago now the Hon. Mr Ridgway and I camped under a wind turbine for the night as part of our work on a select committee. I cannot speak for the Hon. Mr Ridgway but I can recall that I had a very good night's sleep. In any event, the Hon. Mr Ridgway's ambiguity toward windfarms is on the record. I recall a Liberal Party pamphlet where he described windfarms as 'generating angst'.

Last month, the Hon. Mr Ridgway tweeted that he was pleased to speak at the Australian Energy Storage Alliance Market Update and described South Australia's reputation as being a leader in renewable energy and low carbon initiatives, creating fantastic opportunities for investment. This is a far cry from the criticism that the Labor government received when it was in power. I conclude my remarks by calling on the Hon. Mr Ridgway to come clean, so to speak, and tell us what measures he is pursuing to ensure that South Australia remains a world leader in renewable energy, and I call on him to release the Liberal Party's policy details.

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