South Australia's Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis has labelled a plan by the state’s Liberal Opposition leader Steven Marshall to scrap the Renewable Energy Target (RET) as dangerous for both investment in South Australia and the “stability of the electricity grid”.
According to Koutsantonis, Marshall's plan would kill any prospect of solar thermal in Port Augusta and could lead to current renewables projects being switched off.
He made his comments following last week’s power supply crisis and blackouts in South Australia after the Australian Energy Market Operator enforced load-shedding to ensure there was enough power needed to cover the peak demand on the state's energy network.
“Mr Marshall’s announcement today again reveals a complete lack of understanding of how the energy market works. Our renewable energy target is aspirational, meaning there is no incentive in place to drive investment,” Koutsantonis said.
{loadposition peter}“It is the federal government that pays renewables to operate in South Australia, so Mr Marshall's announcement is meaningless.
“But abdicating responsibility for energy policy to a federal government controlled by the right wing of the Liberal Party puts current investment at serious risk. We need more supply of electricity in South Australia but Mr Marshall has said he will ban gas in South Australia and now wants to kill off all future investment in renewables.”
Koutsantonis claimed that Marshall's policies of banning gas and killing off investment in renewables could lead to supply shortfalls and rolling blackouts.
“These policies will create a serious supply shortfall that could lead to rolling blackouts.”
South Australia’s Renewable Energy Target is 50% by 2025 and renewables currently account for more than 40% of the state’s energy mix.
Koutsantonis said South Australia’s Renewable Energy Target was aspirational, meaning there was no mechanism or incentive in place to drive the uptake of renewables.