Corbell, Milne, Hewson named as Australian solar ambassadors

The ACT’s out-going environment minister – and architect of the Capital’s nation-leading renewable energy policy – Simon Corbell has been named as one of three patrons to the Australian Solar Council, alongside former Greens leader Christine Milne and Former Liberal Party leader John Hewson.

According to an announcement made on Monday, the three appointees from across the political spectrum will act as national ambassadors for solar energy, to advance its development and uptake.

Corbell, who in August announced he would not to seek ALP pre-selection for the next election, has transformed the ACT into the nation’s brightest beacon for renewable energy – it has a target of 90 per cent renewables by 2020 – and set the standard for other governments, both state and federal.

On Corbell’s watch, the Territory developed a string of major renewable energy projects include a commitment to next generation solar, energy storage and renewable energy technologies, a highly successful roof-top solar feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme, the 20MW Royalla solar farm, and two more large-scale solar projects in development.

And the ACT’s large-scale renewable energy auctions have been a huge success, buoying the industry at a time when policy, both federally and in other states on the NEM, was being removed or pared back.

In a statement on Monday, Corbell said he was honoured to be appointed a patron for the Solar Council, to help advocate the importance of solar energy to Australia’s future.

“The council’s advocacy work directly promotes research, development and adoption of solar energy and contributes significantly to the sector,” Corbell said.

“The appointment of patrons from right across the political spectrum is indicative of the importance of solar to Australia’s future.”