Clean Energy Council warns 2km setback could risk billions in investment and thousands of jobs
A plan to impose a mandatory buffer between homes and new wind projects would put tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of regional investment at risk, according to new modeling from the Clean Energy Council.
Analysis provided Age, It predicts the Victorian Liberal and National Party’s two kilometer setback policy will risk $3.9 billion in local wages and more than $200 million in landowner and community payments over the next decade.
The future of the state’s renewable energy projects is emerging as a key battleground ahead of the November election, especially in western farming communities where landowners oppose the rapid expansion of wind, solar and battery projects.
Under current planning rules, wind turbines must be at least one kilometer from existing homes unless residents give written consent for them to be closer. But the Coalition has vowed to reinstate the Baillieu-era policy and extend the setback to two kilometers and extend this to all regional energy projects.
He argues that the plan would provide greater protection and certainty to residents living near renewable areas.
But analysis by the Clean Energy Council found that doubling that would eliminate nearly 70 percent of available land for wind energy projects and put the project pipeline at risk.
It also became clear that much of the remaining land was fragmented and would be disconnected from existing transmission infrastructure, making development virtually unsustainable.
Renewable projects in Victoria are expected to create 26,000 jobs by 2035, the majority in short-term construction and installation roles in the regions, according to the council, Australia’s largest renewable energy lobby group, which represents nearly 1000 companies in the sector.
Ahead of the state election, the Coalition sought to capitalize on growing anger from regional areas that have faced a strong backlash from farming communities who argue they should not have to bear a disproportionate share of Victoria’s farmland energy transition.
As part of its analysis, the council compared the Coalition’s disruption policy with policies in other jurisdictions and found the plan would give Victoria some of the most restrictive renewable planning rules in Australia.
In NSW, the government imposes a buffer of between 1 and 2.2 kilometres, depending on the height of the turbines, while South Australia imposes a buffer of between 1.5 and 2 kilometres.
The council said similar restrictions in Europe, including in the German state of Bavaria where a two-kilometre buffer was imposed, had crippled local industry.
In addition to pledging to halt wind farms, the coalition has pledged to provide regional communities with greater input into projects in their areas and has pledged to build urban solar parks in metropolitan areas.
The coalition said it would also pause and review the controversial Victoria-NSW Interconnector West and Western Renewables Link transmission line projects, which would carry electricity from new renewable projects to homes and businesses.
Opposition energy spokesman David Davis said the expanded buffer zone would minimize the impact on local communities and strike a fairer balance.
“We are determined to pause and review long-distance cable projects to ensure value for money and rigorous cost benefit analysis to protect consumers from Labour’s rising electricity bills,” he said.
“Our balanced approach will ensure that the country’s communities are properly protected and fundamental democratic rights are restored, while maintaining control of the spiraling energy infrastructure costs paid by families and small businesses struggling under Labour’s massive taxes.”
Davis also said urban solar parks in industrial and commercial areas across Melbourne, which would pair rooftop solar panels with battery storage near locations where energy demand was high, were ripe for opportunity.
“With countless hectares of available rooftop space across warehouses and factories, these sites have the potential to generate and store significant amounts of electricity, providing energy to homes and businesses while reducing pressure on the grid,” he said.
Clean Energy Council chief executive Jackie Trad (former Queensland deputy premier and Labor MP) said the proposed rollback policy risked undermining regional investment as well as Victoria’s future energy security.
“Victoria needs new electricity generation to replace rapidly deteriorating coal-fired power stations and maintain reliable supply for homes, businesses and industry,” Trad said.
“A two kilometer setback would destroy Victoria’s development pipeline and with it reliable pathways to meet future energy demand.”
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