RURAL leaders are calling for governments and the Australian Energy Market Operator to invest to address capacity constraints that are hindering the development of the renewable energy sector in country Australia.
Chris Sounness, chief executive at Wimmera Development Association in Victoria, said there was huge excitement in his region about the possibilities the renewable energy sector could create but said investment was needed.
"We've got some big projects, both solar and wind, planned in the region," Mr Sounness said.
"Within the Western Victoria Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) there is at least 1,698MW of proposed projects, based on publicly available information," he said.
We believe that with our natural resources and the proper investment renewable energy could be a major industry up there with agriculture in the region and this is probably true about a number of parts of rural Australia."
Mr Sounness said while it was exciting to see the planned investment in his region, WDA was concerned about the ability to export the energy.
"Existing capacity constraints in Victoria's energy grid mean that Victoria's transition to renewable energy is being seriously constrained, and this is not a problem that is limited to just Victoria, across the country there needs to be more done to create grids that allow energy to move smoothly."
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Mr Sounness said grid transmission capacity was the key.
"In this part of the world energy generation capacity of the proposed projects is far greater than what the grid will be able to move out."
He said WDA was pushing for government to invest in a network capable of handling larger volumes of electricity.
In the local scenario this will involve tying in with Western Renewables Link, a proposed 190km overhead high-voltage electricity transmission line running from Bulgana, near Stawell, down to Sydenham, in Melbourne's north-west suburbs.
"There are proposals for a 220 kilowatt line running from Bulgana to Waubra, near Ballarat, or another for a 500kV double circuit overhead line all the way for the 190km from Bulgana to Sydenham."
"We are encouraging government to show some forward thinking in the renewables space.
"By locating a terminal station at Bulgana the Victorian government will be able to fast track its renewable energy targets."
From a regional point of view Mr Sounness said a vibrant renewable energy sector had the potential to provide another stream of high value employment for the community.
"We've seen the jobs that have come in the construction of those projects that have already got up and running such as the Murra Warra wind farm, there are a lot of highly skilled, highly paid jobs available in this area.
"Having these jobs available will be a boon for our region in order to stop the exodus of skilled professionals and tradespeople moving to larger centres for work, it will not just be job creation, but career creation."
Tim Hopper, managing director of the CHS Group, a large Horsham-based industrial services business with a strong presence in the electrical industry, echoed Mr Sounness' sentiments.
"We've seen the renewables space can be really good for regional communities, not just for businesses like ours, but the flow-on impacts are really good for other local businesses," Mr Hopper said.
"To really harness that potential there needs to be a push to get the capacity in place to allow the renewable projects to put their energy back into the grid and sent to where it is most needed," he said.
"This means that the transmission lines have to go somewhere - what I can't understand is that people who say they are for the environment and support the Greens then kick up a fuss when the lines are proposed to go anywhere near where they live.
"Part of getting the most out of these projects for the country is having the infrastructure to feed the energy back into the grid and having high profile complaints by people who say they are in favour of renewables does not make much sense."
Kevin Irwin, mayor of Northern Grampians, where the proposed Bulgana terminal would be located, said the face of the energy market was changing and that he hoped regional Australia was afforded the chance to capitalise on the opportunities.
"There are plenty of locations suitable for these renewable developments that can work in conjunction with agriculture in the region so the best land is kept for farming," Mr Irwin said.
"Having these developments would be great in a municipality like ours, with not only the ongoing employment it would create but the chance for the projects to provide energy for other potential energy-intensive industries as well, but the renewable projects need the chance to be able to send their product further afield as well," he said.
Gregor Heard
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
