“Clean energy arms race:” NSW Labor promises state-owned body modelled on CEFC

The NSW Coalition government and the state Labor opposition have upped the ante on their election campaign promises to accelerate the transition of the country’s biggest and most coal dependent grid to a global leader on wind, solar and storage.

The state heads to the polls in little more than a month (March 25), with Labor currently ahead in most public surveys. The campaign is now bringing new focus on the future of what is regarded as one of the country’s most comprehensive and details transition plans from fossil fuels to clean energy.

Coalition energy minister and treasurer Matt Kean, who has masterminded the renewable infrastructure roadmap that supports the replacement of coal with wind, solar and storage within a decade, announced on Saturday a new $1.5 billion “Clean Energy Superpower Fund” to fast-track and underpin that transition.

Most of the money ($1.2 billion) comes from the existing Transmission Acceleration Facility announced in June last year, which is targeting key infrastructure such as proposed Waratah “super battery” that will act as a kind of giant sponge on the grid.

There will, however, be an extra $300 million under the new fund to support large projects, plus a further $23 million to expand the roadmap to add in rooftop solar, and community batteries.

“Rooftop solar is a no-brainer to save money on energy bills, but we know that tens of thousands of families can’t get the full benefit of their system because of network constraints which limit the amount of energy they can export to the grid,” Kean said in a statement.

Labor responded on Sunday by promising its $1 billion Energy Security Corporation, a new state owned body that appears to be largely based on the success of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, but without the retailing component that features in the plans of the Victoria state government.

Labor argues that the industry is concerned that the Coalition’s infrastructure roadmap is slipping behind schedule, and the new ESC will help unlock private money to deliver projects on time and at scale.

Again, these funds are drawn from an existing Restart NSW Fund and its role will be to support medium to long duration storage such as pumped hydro, and “any other” commercially viable technologies. It will also support community batteries to maximise the benefits of rooftop solar.

“The Liberal National government have not done enough to ensure the dispatchable supply of clean energy needed for when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow,” Labor’s statement says

“Labor’s Fresh Start Plan for energy will ensure we can help keep the lights on, and do so while keeping essential services in public hands, and creating good jobs across the state.”

The Clean Energy Council issued a statement saying NSW Labor “appears to have struck the right balance” with its policy announcement, which will ensure that the state remains a beneficiary for private investors.

CEO Kane Thornton said NSW was already an attractive place to invest.

“We would expect that by targeting areas of reliability, affordability and medium- to long-term storage, the public-sector contributions by the NSW Energy Security Corporation will help lower power prices, create jobs, keep the lights on and reduce our emissions,” he said.

“We are in a global clean energy arms race. The world has changed markedly in just six months, global competition for green finance, equipment and human capital is intensifying, and we will need to boldly assert ourselves to secure a share of this massive green growth opportunity.”