The Victorian solar homes plan will be good for our climate, good for clean energy, and good for household power bills.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has welcomed the Andrews Government’s $1.2 billion rooftop solar plan that will over a decade help 650,000 more Victorian households harvest cheap solar power and cut climate pollution.
ACF Climate Change Program Manager, Gavan McFadzean, said the Victorian solar initiative again showed many state governments are leading the way on climate action, while in contrast the Turnbull Government continued to hamstring ambition through weak national pollution targets under the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) and support for dirty coal.
“The Victorian solar homes plan will be good for our climate, good for clean energy, and good for household power bills,” Mr McFadzean said.
“This announcement shows that Victoria gets that when it comes to energy policy you can have your cake and eat it too. Driving more renewables into the system is the best way to cut climate pollution and electricity prices, while adding stability to the national grid.
“Over a decade — the same decade that the NEG will do little to cut pollution and boost clean energy — the Victorian solar initiative will lift the number of households harvesting solar power and cutting carbon pollution across the state to one million.
“Clean solar energy is a clear solution for cutting pollution and transitioning Australia’s power supply from dirty coal. Helping households get solar panels is a key part of the transition.
“States like Victoria and Queensland have recently demonstrated further climate leadership by putting forward constructive compromises to ensure the NEG can one day be turned into a truly effective plan to cut pollution from electricity.
“We note the recent indication from the Turnbull Government that it is planning to adopt one of these state recommendations – putting the pollution target in regulation. But the Federal Government must accept the full breadth of recommendations from the states, including a provision to ensure targets are always made stronger, not weaker.”
