Australia’s Climate Action Summit Greens NSW MP John Kaye June 2013, Glebe NSW
Making NSW renewable :
The next steps (politics)
The challenge – 2013
John Kaye Greens NSW MP 2
John Kaye Greens NSW MP 3
The barriers
Climate deniers Impact on probable next
federal govt Power of fossil fuel
industry Political and economic
Fear of change Job insecurity
Politicians lacking imagination No vision for a new future
The non-barriers
Technology UNSW, BZE …: 100% renewable NSW possible Existing technologies: wind, solar thermal, PV
Economics Costs plummeting Jobs:
73,800 in clean energy generation, vs6,000 in coal and gas generation
Investment capital $10 bn invest (+ 4,000 jobs + 22 Mt CO2) in wind
alone
Plummeting costs of renewables
Wind, sun, coal and jobs
John Kaye Greens NSW MP 7
Jobs in NSW
Coal-fired electricity (including mining)
6,000
Renewables & efficiency 73,800
Jobs in NSW
Aluminum smelting 1,500
Rooftop solar 5,400
The zero-carbon technologies Central
Wind Concentrating solar
thermal storage
Biomass Distributed
Rooftop panels Micro-hydro Energy efficiency
100% Renewable is: Possible
Technology is ready Investment is available Time is right
100% Renewable is: Affordable
makes economic sense renewables now cheaper
than new coal-fired PS Social costs of carbon are
economically unsustainable cost NSW: $2.4 bn to $6.9 bn Health, infrastructure
create thousands of new jobs up to 73,800 jobs in NSW
100% Renewable is: Essential
Unacceptable costs of fossil fuels: environmental social economic
NSW biggest CO2 emitter in Aus
Carbon addiction Dead end economy
Renewables Export growth area
Breaking through
Campaign of solutions: Possible, Affordable, Essential Focus on jobs growth Works with carbon price
Legislation: Transforming NSW Energy Sector (Towards 100 percent
Renewables) Bill 2013 A greenprint for a 100% renewable NSW Showing how it can be done Force debate on choice:
CSG & coal or renewables Councils as change agents
Towards 100% renewable communities
Part 1: Legislation
Objective: require NSW govt to take first steps to replace state's coal-fired electricity generating fleet
with renewable energy and energy efficiency Steps:
Develop the equivalent of 500 MW coal by 2017 solar, wind and energy efficiency
Close 500 MW unit at Wallerawang power station 2017
Guarantee employment all workers at Wallerawang Ban new fossil fuel power stations of 15 MW or more Remove artificial barriers to
distributed energy wind power
Establish timeline for closing all coal-fired power stations by 2030
Guarantee employment for all power station employees
Part 2: Councils as change agents
Councils best located to provide leadership coordination and support (esp. finding funding sources)
Councils know more than any other agency about: Community Housing stock Land Possibilities of renewable energy
Build confidence in new technologies Aggregating expertise and knowledge
Possible roles councils can take Direct installation
E.g. Waverley – 31 kW of PV Bulk purchase and retail
Warrnambool – savings Establish Renewable Energy Parks
Expand capacity as residents buy-in Works best with modular – e.g. solar PV
Establish/foster Renewable Energy Coop Central NSW RE Coop Hepburn Springs wind turbines
Community benefits
Jobs Low income participation Investment and economic activity Lower electricity costs Identity and community strengthening
“What’s great is that locals who are low income earners can even be part owners for as little as $100, and they have the same vote as everybody else - that’s inclusiveness and democracy at its best. I don’t have much money but I invested all I could in it.”
Hepburn member
Next step:
Gather baseline data and identify opportunities:
Towards 100% Renewable NSW Action needed at all levels of govt and
community Reduce emissions rapidly Secure jobs and build export markets Take pressure off power bills
Massive benefits Early adopters are winners
Community buy-in Create constituency for change Just transition
2013 – the year of transition
Greens moving Transforming NSW Energy Sector (Towards 100 percent Renewables) Bill 2013 Create the debate Demonstrate the possibility and affordability
Greens developing Councils as change agents Piloting in a number of local government areas On-the-ground demonstration of possibilities and
benefits We believe it is: Time to stop talking and start transforming