Dissenting Report by Independent Senator
Nick Xenophon
1.1
Australia, as a leading developed nation, has a responsibility not only
to those of us who live here but as a global citizen in facing the challenges
of climate change. An integral part of rising to this challenge is ensuring we
are investing in emerging, efficient and cost effective renewable technologies.
1.2
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency, since its establishment in 2012,
has funded a number of worthy renewable energy projects and feasibility studies.
One such proposal is that of the Repower Port Augusta Alliance in Port Augusta,
South Australia. The two coal-fire power stations in the area are nearing the
end of their working life, leaving an enormous opportunity to remove these
outdated and polluting 'dinosaurs' and replace them with modern solar thermal
plants. According to the Repower Port Augusta Alliance's website:
This will create 1800 jobs, save 5 million tonnes of
greenhouse gas emissions, improve the health of the local community and ensure
energy security and stable electricity prices.[1]
1.3
I pay tribute to the vision and hard work of the former Mayor of Port
Augusta, the late Ms Joy Baluch AM in her advocacy for such a project.
1.4
The Repower Port Augusta Alliance's submission to this inquiry explained
their project in more detail:
Concentrated solar thermal towers with storage is a
game-changing renewable energy technology due to its ability to store and
dispatch heat energy to provide on-demand baseload renewable energy, even when
the sun goes down. Solar thermal towers operate by concentrating the sun’s rays
to the top of a tower with a field of heliostats (mirrors). This heat then
heats up a storage solution such as molten salt which is then stored and
dispatched to boil water, spin a turbine and create electricity... The technology
works in a similar way to a traditional coal-fired power station except it
replaces the traditional coal heat source with the sun. This similarity makes
the skills used to operate a coal-fired power station easily transferable to
the skills used in a solar thermal plant. This transferability of skills from
coal to solar would be of huge benefit to the Port Augusta community, allowing
jobs to be transferred from the ageing coal station with a projected life of
2027, into a new solar thermal power station. Creating this transition pathway
is a responsibility of the Government and ARENA is a critical agency for
achieving it.[2]
1.5
While funds previously allocated by ARENA to these projects are safe,
the Repower Port Augusta Alliance has pointed out that Australia lags behind
other nations such as the US, Spain, South Africa and Chile in terms of solar
thermal technologies. Its submission continued:
Despite Australia’s world-leading solar resource, we are yet
to realise the potential benefits that solar thermal can play in our energy
market due to a lack of investment in the technology by the Federal Government.
Ongoing policy uncertainty has further contributed to Australia’s failure to
realise the opportunity provided by the technology. ARENA has been playing a
role in bringing this technology to Australia with the targeted funding of
studies and demonstration projects. Abolishing ARENA or any cuts to its funding
will severely hamper the introduction of this technology to Australia.[3]
1.6
In stark contrast to solar thermal technologies, the wind energy sector
is highly developed in Australia, and indeed there is a concern that an over
reliance on wind energy, given its intermittence and unreliability, has caused
distortions in the electricity market. South Australia alone has over 30
percent of the nation's wind farms, a statistic some praise while other bemoan.
Wind energy is unreliable and
I am concerned that putting so much of our renewable energy investment and
hopes in
one basket we are forgoing the opportunity to invest in developing
technologies.
Further, there are widespread and legitimate community concerns about the
impact of wind energy which must not be ignored. Indeed, a unanimous Senate
Community Affairs Committee report's recommendations included:
Recommendation 1
The Committee considers that the noise standards adopted by
the states and territories for the planning and operation of rural wind farms
should include appropriate measures to calculate the impact of low frequency
noise and vibrations indoors at impacted dwellings.
Recommendation 2
The Committee recommends that the responsible authorities
should ensure that complaints are dealt with expeditiously and that the
complaints processes should involve an independent arbitrator. State and local
government agencies responsible for ensuring compliance with planning
permissions should be adequately resourced for this activity.
Recommendation 3
The Committee recommends that further consideration be given
to the development of policy on separation criteria between residences and wind
farm facilities.
Recommendation 4
The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government initiate
as a matter of priority thorough, adequately resourced epidemiological and
laboratory studies of the possible effects of wind farms on human health. This
research must engage across industry and community, and include an advisory
process representing the range of interests and concerns.
Recommendation 5
The Committee recommends that the NHMRC review of research should
continue, with regular publication.
Recommendation 6
The Committee recommends that the National Acoustics Laboratories
conduct a study and assessment of noise impacts of wind farms, including the
impacts of infrasound.
Recommendation 7
The Committee recommends that the draft National Wind Farm Development
Guidelines be redrafted to include discussion of any adverse health effects and
comments made by NHMRC regarding the revision of its 2010 public statement.[4]
1.7
It appears that both the former government and this government have not
appropriately implemented these recommendations. In my view there should be a
moratorium on wind farm development pending the implementation of these
recommendations.
1.8
Therefore while I do not support abolishing ARENA I believe that no
further Federal Government funding should be directed towards wind projects,
given ARENA is intended to focus on new and emerging technologies. It is time
Australia looked past wind and focused on some of our other natural resources
like solar, tidal and geothermal reserves.
Recommendation
1.9
That ARENA continues subject to it not funding wind energy given the
maturity of the industry and legitimate concerns over its community impact.
Senator Nick Xenophon
Senator for South Australia
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