Last night’s budget saw $4.5 billion to go towards clean energy, but the lion’s share went to coal. Of the total, over half will go towards low-emissions coal technologies, also known as “clean coal” or “new generation coal“.
According to Australian Greens leader Bob Brown, the budget was a missed opportunity for shifting Australia to a low carbon economy, saying “the Rudd government is more interested in propping up the coal industry than investing in the clean, renewable energy jobs of tomorrow”.
Steve Campbell of Greenpeace Australia Pacific said that funding for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), a component of low emissions coal technology, was “a bridge to nowhere“. However, another Greenpeace representative pointed out in a blog post on the organisation’s site that while the “green new deal” didn’t occur, support for renewable energy at the scale that can replace coal-fired electricity did; with $1.5 billion dedicated to building four solar power stations able to generate enough renewable energy to power 3,000,000 Australian homes.
The budget also provided additional funding so the current Solar Homes and Communities Program (SHCP) $8,000 rebate can continue until the Solar Credits scheme under the Renewable Energy Target is legislated. The Solar Credits program is due to be rolled out on July 1 this year and while it will offer less incentive than the current scheme; unlike the SHCP’s means tested rebate, it will be available to just about every Australian business and home owner wanting to install grid connect solar power.
Missing from the budget was any direct mention of future funding for the RRPGP (Renewable Remote Power Generation Programme). This program provides substantial rebates on off grid solar and wind power systems. At an industry meeting in April, government representatives stated that funding for the off grid rebate was rapidly running out, and that without further funding announced in last night’s budget, the program would have “only a matter of months” left to run.
