Renewable energy stoush between Andrews and Turnnbull Governments

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Victorian Energy
Minister Lily D'Ambrosio

stoush has emerged between the Andrews and Turnbull governments over renewable energy funding, with Victoria claiming solar projects in its state are likely to miss out on $100 million in grants in favour of sunnier places such as NSW and Queensland.

Victorian Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio has written to the national renewables agency and Environment Minister Greg Hunt raising her concerns that Victoria might miss out.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency – also known as ARENA – has set up the $100 million program with the aim of driving down the costs of large-scale solar projects.

But Ms D'Ambrosio said the design of the program meant that Victorian projects were unlikely to win a grant and that NSW and Queensland projects would dominate.

Read Tom Arup’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Not so bright: Victoria to miss out on federal solar grants Andrews Government claims”.

(Just last week Australian economist and the man responsible the 2008 Garnaut Climate Change Review, the University of Melbourne’s Professor Ross Garnaut, told a conference discussing climate and energy pathway for Australia and Europe in the lead up to the fast-approaching climate conference in a Paris, that a visiting German professor has said Australia’s worst place for solar energy -the Tasmanian west coast - is better than Germany’s best sites, and yet we still procrastinate about employing this virtually carbon-free energy technology.)