NSW has surged ahead of Queensland and Victoria in the construction of new renewable energy infrastructure, according to a new report from the Clean Energy Council.
The Clean Energy Council’s latest Renewable Projects Quarterly Report found NSW accounted for almost 60 per cent of the nation’s renewable energy capacity that was financially committed in the past 12 months.
This was almost twice the combined effort of Victoria and Queensland, which contributed 21 per cent and 12 per cent respectively of additions to the nation’s pipeline.
Treasurer and Minister for Energy Matt Kean said the Clean Energy Council’s report showed NSW was leaving the nation’s other states in the dust when it came to building renewable electricity infrastructure.
“In the last 12 months, we have added 11 renewable energy projects to the NSW construction pipeline, including enough generation to power around 750,000 households,” Mr Kean said.
“Over the same period, Victoria and Queensland, mustered five each.
“This is what happens when you get Labor governments in power with an ideological opposition to private investment in our electricity grid – capital dries up, construction stalls and consumers pay higher bills.
“NSW simply can’t afford to see construction of renewable electricity infrastructure stall to the same sluggish rate of the Labor states.
“Yet Chris Minns is already sending out the same investment-killing signals as his interstate Labor mates, running on a platform of greater government-ownership in the electricity system.”
The report also showed that NSW outstripped all other states and territories when it came to the construction of electricity storage infrastructure.
Mr Kean said NSW had 12 storage projects under construction or financially committed, which was more than Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia combined.
“The pipeline of storage infrastructure currently being rolled out in NSW will deliver 2,276 megawatts of storage capacity – that’s worth 50 per cent of all the projects currently underway in Australia,” Mr Kean said.
“This is despite Chris Minns’ bogus claim that storage is ‘the missing piece of the puzzle’ in the NSW electricity grid. Either Chris Minns is energy-illiterate or he’s willing to say anything if he thinks it’ll win him a vote.”
A re-elected Liberal and Nationals Government will provide every household in NSW with $250 off their energy bills from July.
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