October 31, 2007
Australia

Renewable energy target queried

Doubts have been raised about Australia’s ability to meet Labor’s target of 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020.

The Energy Supply Association of Australia says it supports the target, but believes it will be very tough to meet.

Chief executive Brad Page believes solar and geothermal technology, which are the focus of the plan, will still be under development.

And he says Australia does not have the manufacturing capacity, or the labour, to build enough wind power generators.

“We think that it will be dominated by wind and we doubt that you can get much more than 9000 megawatts of wind energy in Australia,” he says.

“That’s 4500 individual wind turbines.

“Now if you had to build all of those in the next 10 or so years, that’s a very big ask”.

31 October 2007