Kean goes deep green with budget that links climate action with future prosperity

New South Wales treasurer and energy minister Matt Kean believes his State can become a “renewable energy superpower”, delivering a budget that pitches green energy technologies as critical to the future prosperity of Australia’s largest state economy.

Kean handed down his first state government budget on Tuesday, and again provided a stark contrast between the Liberal state government and the federal Coalition, showing it understands how cutting emissions and supporting low emissions industries can deliver economic windfalls.

The centrepiece of the NSW’s budget commitments for the energy sector is the previously announced $1.2 billion in funding to accelerate the construction of new transmission infrastructure to support the creation of the State’s Renewable Energy Zones.

“We are on track to reduce our emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, on 2005 levels, and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050,” Kean said.

“These commitments are not just about avoiding more record bushfires, droughts and floods, but also about underwriting our prosperity as our trading partners go to the green goods of the future.”

“This is why we will make a record $1.2 billion investment to establish our Transmission Acceleration Facility, which will help catalyse at least $14 billion of private investment to carry energy from our renewable energy zones – modern day power stations – to our businesses and our homes.”

Kean became the NSW treasurer in the wake of the resignation of former premier Gladys Berejiklian, but retains the energy portfolio after having being the architect of the NSW government’s vision to replace the State’s ageing fleet of coal fired generators with renewables and storage.

“New South Wales has the potential to become a renewable energy superpower. We may be a sunburnt country, but we are also sun-blessed,” Kean said.

“Our State’s sun and wind can deliver us some of the cheapest, cleanest and most reliable energy anywhere in the world. This will free us from our dependency on ageing power stations and from the shocks of global energy markets.

“This investment will fast-track our Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, the cross-party reform this Parliament passed to modernise our electricity infrastructure and ensure New South Wales can be a leader in a low-carbon world.”

Also revealed in Tuesday’s budget is additional funding of $219 million to support the transition of the State’s public bus network to zero emissions models.

The NSW Government had previously committed to replacing its 8,000-strong public bus fleet – currently dominated by gas and diesel-fuelled busses – with zero emissions models. It now says it could achieve that target by 2047.

“The NSW Government is committed to delivering the benefits of zero emission buses State-wide and ensuring NSW is a global leader in this space,” Kean said.

“This investment includes funding of $84 million to enable transition planning, including electrical grid upgrades at 11 Transport for NSW bus depots.”

“Transitioning the entire fleet of buses will reduce Transport for NSW’s emissions by 78 per cent, reduce noise on our streets, improve air quality and ensure our commuters enjoy a smoother ride.”

State transport minister David Elliott said the government would ‘stagger’ the replacement of the government bus fleet to provide local manufacturers with the best chance to participate in the fleet transition.

“To ensure the transition is sustainable and our buses are made locally at a competitive price, the NSW Government will stagger the transition of the entire fleet of buses to zero emissions technology by 2035 in Greater Sydney, Outer Metro regions by 2040 and regional NSW by 2047,” Elliott said.

“This timeline will allow some of our great manufacturers to further gear up for this bus revolution and ensure we are supporting local jobs for years to come.”

The NSW Government will also direct $130 million into a new Critical Minerals Activation Fund, designed to establish supplies of critical minerals and hi-tech metals used in clean energy technologies, like batteries and electric vehicles.

“Our State’s abundance of resource deposits positions New South Wales to be a leader in critical minerals investment, supporting extraction and local processing,” deputy premier Paul Toole said.

“These critical minerals are essential for the manufacture of batteries, electric vehicles and other renewable technologies, paving the way to create thousands of regional jobs.”

“The critical minerals and high-tech metals sector represents the future of mining, with significant flow-on benefits for other industries and regional communities. This new funding sends a strong message to surveyors, miners, and processors that New South Wales is open for business.”

The state budget also confirmed $128 million in funding would be provided to the government’s “Energy Bill Buster” program, which will allow around 30,000 NSW households to swap their entitlements for energy concessions for a 3kW rooftop PV system at no out-of-pocket cost.