Friday 23 January 2015

LABOR’S SOLAR PLAN WILL GENERATE JOBS

Media Release


Labor’s plan to boost the state’s renewable energy sector will spark private sector investment and generate jobs without the need for asset sales, says Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk.
“Labor is focussed on creating jobs and our solar power initiatives will do just that by leveraging private sector investment without selling our income-producing assets and their $2 billion-a-year revenue stream,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“Increasing Queensland’s renewable energy production will not only be good for the environment, it will help lower electricity costs for families and businesses and create jobs.
“In office Labor will call for proposals to generate 40-megawatts of base-load renewable energy including solar power. This will be used as a trial for more renewable power plants.
“This approach has been successful in the ACT as well as in Brazil and South Africa.
“In the ACT it attracted more than $100 million in infrastructure investment and supported 165 construction jobs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 1.4 million tonnes over 20 years.
“This is a simple and sensible way to generate power and the jobs that go with it without any major outlay from taxpayers and without selling assets and their $2 billion-a-year revenue stream.
“This approach would also be much more difficult in a privatised power system because of the need for government leadership to encourager renewable energy generation.
“By encouraging investment in base-load solar power stations through our renewable energy auction, we will leverage private investment to create the high-tech renewable energy jobs of the future right here in Queensland.
Ms Palaszczuk said a Labor Government would also examine injecting more competition into the power sector by allowing local councils in remote areas to generate power from renewable sources such as solar to lower costs to consumers.
“This will also give remote communities greater energy security in light of the fact the LNP has still not adequately explained if or how it will continue to subsidise their tariffs once it loses $2 billion a year from selling assets including returns from power bodies.
“We will also initiate a renewable energy study to investigate measures to create an export-orientated renewable energy economy here in Queensland,” she said.
“We understand that technological advances for solar-generated power storage have changed the game. As a result, policies to promote renewable power are not just kinder for the environment, they make sound economic sense and will generate jobs.
“Renewable energy is also a focus of our $50 million Advance Queensland science and innovation policy.”
Ms Palaszczuk said Labor also planned an independent review to determine a fair price for a solar feed-in tariff based on an assessment of public and consumer benefits rather than the requirements of large companies.
“In contrast to the LNP, which is stuck in the past and has no vision, Labor understands that renewable energy initiatives create jobs and opportunities,” she said.
“Our trading partners and global competitors know this. China, for example, aims to generate 20% of all its power by water, wind and solar by 2020 and is already generating more energy from renewable sources than France and Germany combined.
“Before the last election Campbell Newman promised to support continuing research and development into emerging renewable energy technologies.
“But just 48 hours before the election he backtracked on the promised investment in renewable energy programs, and after the election he cut $660 million in renewable energy programs,” she said.

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