Greens NSW MP John Kaye says a draft Renewable Energy Action Plan for New South Wales fails to entice renewable energy uptake and threatens jobs.
Dr Kaye believes the current plan will force NSW into a coal-fired energy future, overshadowing rooftop solar and wind power while pushing up to 6,000 jobs interstate.
“The plan is a dud,” said Dr Kaye.
“The barriers which currently stunt wind and solar investment must be lowered for us to cut our greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.
The plan, unveiled on Friday, outlines 28 actions the NSW Government will adopt to reach the state’s 20 per cent renewables target by 2020.
While NSW Energy Minister Chris Hartcher says the plan will adopt only the best solutions, delivering investment and jobs at no cost to consumers, Dr Kaye believes the draft needs an environmental overhaul.
In regard to small-scale solar, the plan outlines only one action which voluntary requests solar suppliers to estimate a benchmark for fair prices.
To support medium-scale solar power, the NSW Government will work with industry leaders to identify those projects which will be most cost effective through a Renewable Energy Advocate.
“It is clear that Parliamentary Secretary Rob Stokes, was badly undermined by Minister Chris Hartcher and the fossil-fuel lobby,” said Dr Kaye.
“The fossil-fuel lobby want renewable energy sources to remain a boutique industry that does not interfere with their profits.”
