The Nature Conservation Council of NSW has welcomed the State government’s decision to heed the
strong message from the community by honouring its commitment to households under the Solar
Bonus Scheme.
“The NSW government has today seen the light. Our clean energy future relies on a stable,
predictable investment environment for individuals and business,” Chief Executive Officer Pepe
Clarke said.
“Now an ongoing household tariff has been promised, the State government should get on with the job
of developing a credible plan for meetings its own target of sourcing 20 per cent of our energy from
renewable sources by 2020.
“The Nature Conservation Council urges the NSW government to build on the popular support for
the household solar feed-in scheme, and explore new, cost-effective opportunities for the growth of
large-scale solar-thermal, wind and other clean energy industries in NSW.
“Fast-tracking the development and promotion of clean energy sources is vital given the impacts of
climate change. Increasing opportunities for renewable energies, such as solar, wind and tidal, can
create thousands of green jobs while protecting the climate.
“Sourcing 25 per cent of NSW’s power from renewable energy alone would create $9 billion in new
investment and reduce electricity sector carbon emissions by 13 per cent. South Australia has already
shown the way by sourcing 14 per cent of its total energy demand from wind power.
“We would also like the Government to take a leadership role by implementing a massive expansion of
proven energy efficiency programs to help ease pressure on household power bills, and extend the
productive lifetime of current power transmission infrastructure.
“I urge Premier O’Farrell to build on his positive, community-led decision on solar energy by
introducing an ambitious energy management program and setting a clear path for phasing out polluting
coal-fired power in this state,” Mr Clarke said.
