The energy minister of Victoria (VIC), Lily D’Ambrosio, cleared that the revived public State Electricity Commission (SEC) will not “crowd out the market.”
D’Ambrosio urged private companies to invest in producing at least 20.5 gigawatts necessary for the state to meet its 2035 emissions. Only less than a quarter of the renewable energy required from the target would come from the SEC; hence, her call for private companies to help out.
She assured, “There’s lots of room and we need all of you who’ve got an interest in this space to come and continue to build, knowing that there’s plenty to be done in our state.
D’Ambrosio continues, “We need to see 25GW of new generators between now and 2035.”
A request for federal government funding for SEC
The Andrews government will request federal government funding for the SEC based on tender documents.
A renewed SEC would help lead the state’s transition to renewables and will speed up a significant reduction on emissions. In addition, approximately 59,000 jobs will be created as well as stabilisation of the national electricity market.
In November 2022, Premier Daniel Andrews said, “It’s an opportunity for tens of thousands of workers, families and communities. We are replacing offshore profits with offshore wind renewable megawatts… and it will drive down the cost of power for Victoria and families.”
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The rebirth of the SEC
The rebirth of the SEC was crucial to the Labor government’s election campaign. It includes renewable energy targets of 65 per cent by 2030 and 95 per cent by 2035.
With this, the state aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2045 instead of the initial goal of 2050.
D’Ambrosio said, “It will be 100 per cent renewable energy owned by Victorians and powered by Victorians. So that future Liberal governments cannot sell off our assets ever again, we are enshrining the SEC in the Victorian constitution next year. Our electricity assets should never have been sold.
Labor also plans to make an initial investment of $1 billion to deliver 4.5GW of power and at least $20 million to prepare the SEC for its new role in the energy market, including an office in Morwell.
Victoria leads the way towards renewable energy
The Clean Energy Council (CEC) CEO Kane Thornton said that the plans for SEC is a “powerful signal to renewable energy investors that Victoria is determined to deploy large amounts of new renewable energy generation and manage the phase-out of coal-fired generation.”
Victoria is now leading the way in renewable energy as it recognises the significance of co-investment and the role of the private sector when it comes to infrastructure projects of this size.
The need for more onshore technologies
As mentioned, the SEC will generate more or less 20 per cent of the required energy. Hence, there is a strong need for more onshore technologies.
In 2022, the government announced it is counting on around $30 billion of investment in offshore wind that will replace a huge chunk of the coal-fired generators that will close over the next ten years.
An analysis showed that a big part of new renewable and storage investment will be made in the offshore wind from 2028 and mostly in the years between 2030 and 2035. Offshore wind will take at least six years to get up and running as the technology is still new in the country.
Vena Energy is among the investors that confirmed their interest by unveiling a 2GW Blue Marlin project.
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