A Renewable Energy Master Plan Is Critical To The Clean Energy Transition - Op-ed

With over 70 per cent of Australians naming cost-of-living as their priority issue in recent polls, the Clean Energy Council has welcomed the additional $150 energy bill rebate for all Australian families and small businesses in this years’ Federal Budget. While this short-term relief will be welcomed by Australians, the Clean Energy Council continues to call for a national home battery program that will deliver long-term reductions in power prices.

The Clean Energy Council welcomes today’s announcement of the first recipient from the Australian Government’s Hydrogen Headstart program with $814 million in funding allocated to the 1500 MW Murchison Green Hydrogen Project in Western Australia, for the development of a major new renewable ammonia export facility.

Australians’ desire to take control of their power bills has continued to see rooftop solar uptake boom in 2024, according to the Clean Energy Council’s bi-annual Rooftop Solar and Storage Report (Jul-Dec 2024) released today which found for the fifth consecutive year, more than 300,000 Australian homes and businesses installed rooftop solar.

More than 300,000 rooftop solar systems were installed across Australia last year, bringing the total number to more than 4 million.

While today’s decision is not what was hoped for, it confirms that ageing and increasingly unreliable coal-fired power stations, are by far the biggest contributors to these higher costs for Australian households and small businesses - as well as an over-reliance on expensive gas, which is in short supply.

The Clean Energy Council (CEC) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback to the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) Consultation Paper, NSW Emergency Backstop Mechanism and Consumer Energy Resources Installer Portal.