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CEC’s submission to SA's Green Paper on the Energy Transition

South Australia’s Green Paper sought feedback on a range of areas requiring attention in the transition to net-zero.

Submission in response to proposed harmonisation of energy rules with updated energy objectives

The Clean Energy Council welcomes the opportunity to comment on the rule change to harmonise the NER, NERR and NGR with the updated energy objectives.

CEC Submission_Hydrogen Headstart design_August 2023

The Clean Energy Council (‘the CEC’) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Australian Government’s consultation paper on the new Hydrogen Headstart program.

We welcome the Australian Government’s $2 billion funding commitment to Hydrogen Headstart in the Federal Budget. The program is a critical step in scaling up Australia’s green hydrogen sector and signalling our intentions to become a significant producer in this emerging global market over the longer-term. With the real prospect of a number of other regions stealing a march on Australia in activating their domestic green hydrogen sectors, speed will now be key for remaining a credible contender in the clean energy investment race.

Clean Energy Council Submission to Wired for Change: Small Electrical Products and Solar PV Systems

The Clean Energy Council provided feedback to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)’s public proposal on regulatory approach to product stewardship for electrical/electronic-products (e-products), solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and small electrical and electronic equipment (SEEE). The CEC and its members are largely supportive of DCCEEW’s proposed model for establishing a recycling stewardship scheme with some amendments that are outlined below.

The CEC and its members support a scheme that is dedicated to solar PV waste, insofar as market failures exist. The submission focused on consumer energy resources in terms of its inclusion in a regulated product stewardship scheme. At the outset, we noted that the products included in solar PV waste scheme are fundamentally different in nature and composition, and therefore the scheme should incorporate a specific and distinct focus on the recycling needs and context of the different products. Recycling of solar PV panels represents a significant market failure and requires government intervention to assist in managing the solar PV panel waste. Other components of solar PV systems – such batteries – are currently being managed by industry and so the CEC recommended not including home energy storage batteries in the scheme.

Victoria’s Emergency Backstop mechanism

The Clean Energy Council (CEC) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback to the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change (DEECA) Consultation Paper, Victoria’s Emergency Backstop mechanism.

Renewable Projects Quarterly Report (Q2 2023)

Large-scale energy storage projects led renewable energy investment in the second quarter of 2023 (ending 30 June), with 1497 MW (capacity) / 3802 MWh (storage) reaching financial commitment*.

This was largely thanks to the Waratah Super Battery in NSW, boasting 850 MW / 1680 MWh of capacity and storage alone.

This quarterly result was 2480 MWh more than the rolling quarterly average for generation over the last 12 months, which increased quarter-on-quarter to 1321.5 MWh (+8.23 per cent)

CEC feedback on Draft Queensland Electricity and Connection manual

The CEC recognises the importance of a robust and resilient network. We have supported work towards enabling dynamic operating envelopes for Consumer Energy Resource (CER), with particular focus on dynamic export limits that unlock generation capacity and reward consumers who own CER for making their energy more flexible and supporting the wider system. The CEC welcomes the approach (if not the mechanism) Energy Queensland and their subsidiaries (EQ) have taken to this end, resulting in larger potential photovoltaic (PV) solar system sizes for consumers.

Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) Consultation Paper: Introducing a new class of LEI for renewables

We welcome the proposal of more specific training for inspectors operating in the renewable energy sector and a new class of LEI that represents this competency. Improved consistency of safe renewable energy (RE) systems increases consumer satisfaction and trust in the industry which is imperative to a smooth transition.