Renewable Energy
GREENS MP LEADS CAMPAIGN FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY
You can join Ronan Lee's campaign for more solar and renewable energy in Queensland with better Government policy by downloading and signing this Petition. Download Ronan Lee's Solar Energy Petition here.
Greens Senator Christine Milne is a strong advocate for smarter national policy to promote and encourage renewable energy. You can visit Senator Milne's website here.
QUEENSLAND NEEDS MINISTRY FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY
October 2008: Queensland’s Green MP, Ronan Lee, has called on Premier, Anna Bligh, to address much more of the backlog in environmental policy before calling an election or risk a backlash from voters demanding a strong record of achievement in this area.
Mr Lee said the first thing the premier should do is to have a government re-organisation in which she creates a new Ministry for Renewable Energy.
Mr Lee said the first thing this new department should do is introduce a gross feed-in tariff for renewable energy which paid people who feed energy into the grid the full amount they produce rather than the net amount after household usage is deducted.
“We are the sunshine state and yet we have the worst take-up of solar energy systems in the country,” Mr Lee said. “We don’t want to hear more government spin or what the government will do in its next term of office,” Mr Lee said.
“A government has to be judged on its record and the Bligh government needs many more runs on the board in such areas as climate change, renewable energy, wilderness protection and rivers.”
GREEN-POWERED ECONOMIC RECOVERY NEEDS FAIR PAY FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY.
November 2008: Australia needs nationally consistent price guarantees for renewable energy (known as “feed-in tariffs”), as the most effective and efficient way to build a people-powered, zero emissions energy network and help drive a ‘green economic recovery’, eight Greens MPs said today.
Australian Greens Senator Christine Milne, who has a Private Member’s Bill before the Senate to establish a national feed-in tariff, was joined in today’s call by Greg Barber MLC (VIC), John Kaye MLC (NSW), Ronan Lee MP (QLD), Paul Llewellyn MLC (WA), Nick McKim MHA (TAS), Mark Parnell MLC (SA) and Shane Rattenbury MLA (ACT), all of whom have worked for effective feed-in policies.
The MPs are in Brisbane for the Greens National Conference.
Senator Milne said “Everywhere I go across Australia, people are asking me why governments are not helping them to be part of the solution to climate change.
“One of the best things governments can do is to guarantee a fair price for all renewable energy generated by anyone, giving householders, farmers and businesses the certainty they and their banks need to invest in solar panels, wind turbines or any other renewable energy technology.
”Following Germany’s lead, many countries and states around the world have introduced feed-in tariffs and seen their renewable energy supply boom, creating jobs and investment and reducing greenhouse emissions.
Recent studies from the International Energy Agency and Ernst and Young have shown that feed-in tariffs are more effective and cheaper than quota systems such as Australia’s Mandatory Renewable Energy Target.
The UK is already taking this recent advice.Several Australian States and Territories have proposed or active feed-in tariffs, but all are different and most are deeply flawed. The biggest problems are in limiting payments to solar power, to small scale generation, and to ‘net’ generation, instead of all power generated.
The Greens are calling for uniform gross-metered feed-in tariffs to ensure that people get fair pay for all renewable energy generated from any source of any size across Australia.
Queensland Greens MP Ronan Lee has consistently placed the need for stronger support for renewable energy at the top of the Queensland Greens’ list of priorities.
“Queensland is often called the Sunshine State and we should also be world leaders in renewable energy.
“Queensland and Australia can lead the world with our support for renewable energy if we adopt a nationally consistent approach to renewable energy as is being proposed by Greens Senator Christine Milne” Mr Lee said.
