THE ACT government will brief Goulburn Mulwaree Council about its renewable energy policy later this month.
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The government recently announced that it would source 90 per cent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2020.
It intends to invest in wind farms as part of the push. The government was also exploring development of a regional bioenergy/ energy from a waste facility, a Goulburn Mulwaree Council report stated.
The target is already inflaming tensions in council areas surrounding the ACT, concerned they’ll be built on their patch.
Mayor Geoff Kettle joined Hume MP Angus Taylor and state coalition politicians Pru Goward, Katrina Hodgkinson and John Barilaro in Canberra on April 1, opposing any move to construct more wind farms.
“By investing in wind farms, all located across the border in NSW, it’s not only treating NSW like a junkyard, it’s a case of corporate welfare on steroids for the wind industry,” Mr Taylor said at the time.
“If we’ve learnt anything over recent years, it’s that we need to find low cost ways of reducing carbon emissions. When you boil this down, it’s one giant corporate welfare scheme. The households and businesses of Canberra will be the ones to pay,” Mr Taylor said.
Coalition MPs and mayors have branded wind farms as expensive and divisive.
Duty MLC for Monaro Steve Whan branded this NIMBYISM as bizarre, saying that the NSW Planning website dubbed the ACT region as a renewable energy precinct. This initiative was aimed at attracting investment in wind farms.
“In a bizarre bit of politically partisan theatre these coalition MPs decided to attack the customer instead of the actual approval authority – the NSW Government – or the proponents,” Mr Whan said.
The ACT government has offered a briefing session to Goulburn Mulwaree about its policy and processes. It is tentatively set for April 24. Briefing sessions are not open to the public.
At the most recent Council meeting, Cr Kettle said it was important to hear what the government intended doing with “our countryside.”
“And I hope when they come they bring an artist’s impression of what wind turbines would look like on the Brindabella Ranges,” he quipped.
On the upside, a report to Council speculated that with ACT electricity consumers funding the initiatives, there was potential for some Canberra businesses to relocate into the surrounding region, particularly those that were “price sensitive.”
