Australia’s regional communities want access to affordable, reliable and secure energy. As Australia’s electricity generation mix changes, and the grid transitions to a less carbonised future, consumers across Australia should have the opportunity to benefit from improvements to the electricity system.
Regional and rural communities are keen to be involved in their cleaner energy future, and have indicated that smaller-scale energy projects (up to 10 megawatts) can struggle to attract development and progression.
The Australian Local Power Agency Bills (the Bills) before the Committee were introduced by Dr Helen Haines MP, Member for Indi, to address perceived gaps in regional energy investment and supply. The Bills are intended to give effect to the Local Power Plan (LPP) to promote renewable energy generation and community power projects in regional, rural and remote Australia. The Bills would establish the Australian Local Power Agency (ALPA) as a new corporate Commonwealth entity, responsible for driving investment in community energy projects and supporting regional communities in sharing in the benefits of renewable energy.
The Committee acknowledges the work of Dr Haines in bringing these Bills forward, including the public and community consultation undertaken, and also wishes to thank the members of the community who provided evidence to the inquiry.
Ultimately, the Committee considers that the creation of another new bureaucratic agency, with all the costs and administration that entails, would not be of benefit to Australians. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) are appropriate agencies to undertake the work of providing support to renewable energy projects in Australia.