RET threatens big businesses
Credit: By Sean Ford | The Advocate | Aug. 21, 2014 | www.theadvocate.com.au ~~
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Translate: FROM English | TO English
The renewable energy target threatens the viability of big Tasmanian businesses, Tasmanian Minerals and Energy Council chief executive officer Jeremy Kouw says.
“The bottom line is that energy intensive, trade exposed businesses have their viability put at risk by this scheme, even after the current partial exemption is applied . . .,” Mr Kouw said in an opinion piece for The Advocate.
” . . . if the resulting pressure on these businesses’ bottom lines remains for long enough, eventually the businesses close.”
The RET was started by the former Howard government to boost renewable energy use through subsiding renewables projects.
The Abbott government is having the scheme reviewed and might axe it altogether.
Many Coalition MPs and businesses are arguing for exemptions for businesses which use particularly large amounts of energy, like aluminium producers.
Mr Kouw said Tasmanian businesses in the Big Picture major employers’ group already got most of their energy from renewable hydro and wind power, Mr Kouw said.
“With closure of any one of these businesses, the electricity load disappears, the revenue generated by [Hydro Tasmania] and TasNetworks disappears, but the gap created in the global commodity market is quickly filled by another international producer.”
“If that international commodity producer’s energy source happens to be based on fossil fuels, the net effect for the environment is an increase in emissions.
“This creates a significant risk of emissions leakage, which is a diabolical problem.
“Who wins?
“Certainly not the environment and not the Tasmanian economy and its people.”
Big Picture includes Nyrstar, Grange Resources, Bell Bay Aluminium and Norske Skog.
It wants the RET retained, but with changes.
Those include making energy intensive, trade exposed industries fully exempt.
“It is time for Tasmania’s struggling manufacturing and mining sector to stop the ongoing subsidisation of the renewable energy sector,” Mr Kouw said.
This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.
The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.
| Wind Watch relies entirely on User Funding |
 |
 |
Share:
[ Short URL: https://wind-watch.org/news/?p=66144 ]
