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MP's wind farm plan
24 Sep 2003
Federal Labor MP Christian Zahra is pushing for changes which could make wind farms commercially unviable. His South Gippsland seat of McMillan already has many giant wind turbines and he says people are very concerned that they're damaging the local environment. He wants local communities to have a bigger say on whether such developments go ahead.
The key to his plan is the Federal Government's allocation of renewable energy certificates, which give proof that electricity companies are meeting requirements to buy increasing amounts of renewable energy. Wind farm owners give certificates to electricity distributors post-purchase and these are then submitted to the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator for cash rebates.
Mr Zahra is proposing that wind farm owners be denied certificates if a local council rules a farm to be inappropriate. Unable to receive certificates, distribution companies would not then receive rebates and, because wind-generated power is more expensive than coal-generated power, they would suddenly face having to pay excessive prices.
Wind-generated power is estimated to cost $90 a megawatt hour, compared with only $18 for electricity generated at La Trobe Valley power stations.
Herald Sun, 24/9/03, page 4.
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