New energy minister stays course on renewables, says equivocating will send projects to the “scrap heap”

Newly appointed Victorian energy minister Jaclyn Symes says her main priority since taking up the role from her predecessor, Lily D’Ambrosio, is to “stay the course” on the state’s plan to transition to renewables, wean households from gas, and develop Australia’s first offshore wind industry.

Symes, in her first keynote address in the new portfolio, has told a CEDA luncheon event in Melbourne that D’Ambrosio has been a “hard act to follow,” but that she has left behind a strong foundation and a clear vision of what the state needs to replace coal and maintain a reliable and affordable energy system.

“We know that coal-fired stations are on the way out. They’re retiring. This isn’t a maybe,” Symes told an audience that included the shadow minister for energy, the Coalition’s David Davis, who was also due to address the same event.

See: Coalition vows to “go after gas” as it suggests “massive corruption” in renewables build-out

“Ensuring that we have those structured agreements, having having the conversations with industry about making sure that they can stack up the finances of their projects is just vital.

“Equivocating scares the market. Sends projects onto the scrap heap. Certainty is something that is incumbent on governments to be very consistent about.”

Symes has taken up the role as energy minister at a difficult time, with just a few months until the November state election that polling predicts to be a tough fight for Labor, as the Coalition and One Nation tune in to voter dissatisfaction.

On energy, the Coalition is promising to scrap one of the state’s most significant and contentious transmission projects, VNI West, and to rethink other major infrastructure projects, including proposed Renewable Energy Zones, while turning the focus back to gas, to commercial and industrial solar, and even coal.

Symes says that this approach, from a party whose federal branch once gave VNI West its backing and blessing, smacks of ideology, rather than a considered change of policy direction.

“What’s really dangerous in this space is when political parties start letting ideology inform energy policy choices. All Victorians end up paying a price for that,” she said.

And she says relying on new gas generation to replace the state’s outgoing coal plants is “fanciful,” due to lack of ready supply, difficulty building new gas generators, and cost.

“Gas will back up renewables for years to come, but to say that it can provide the competitively priced baseload power Victoria needs is fanciful,” Symes said.

“Firstly we don’t have enough of it; our gas supply from the Bass Strait is declining. …Procuring a gas turbine in Australia can easily take five years, and that’s just procurement. Then there’s construction financing approvals.

“Most importantly, it costs too much. This is what Victorians worry about. CSIRO analysis shows that gas now has a higher capital cost than batteries, and those trajectories are only going one way.”

Symes says she has been asked, since taking up the role of energy minister, what changes she will bring to the portfolio. But she says that is the “last thing” she intends to do with D’Ambrosio’s “amazing legacy,” including that 45.1% of Victoria’s electricity is now supplied by renewables.

“If you took anything from my address today, that’s the last thing you want a new minister to [do] … you want to stay the course. You want to provide that certainty. You want to ensure that you are continuing to deliver on your commitment and your policies to drive down prices and increase reliability.

“As I’ve settled into the portfolio, I’ve learned more and more the consequences of getting this stuff wrong. They’re enormous. It’s why I think it is crazy to rely on anything other than evidence and expert advice when making decisions.

“Any alternative needs to actually front up, be honest about how much it will cost and what it will mean for working people and their bills.”

See also: Controversial power line connecting renewable zones gets environmental approval

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