Renewable

August 13 (Renewables Now) - The government of Australia’s Victoria state will introduce today a bill into parliament that will make into law the 50% renewable energy target by 2030.

The Renewable Energy (Jobs and Investment) Amendment Bill 2019 builds on the Andrews government’s original Renewable Energy Target (VRET) legislation, which directs the state to source 25% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020 and 40% by 2025. According to the government statement, released on Tuesday, the increased VRET will facilitate the creation of 24,000 jobs by 2030, while driving an additional AUD 5.8 billion (USD 3.9bn/EUR 3.5bn) in economic activity in Victoria.

“Victoria is the renewable energy capital of Australia and strengthening the VRET in law will keep it that way – boosting jobs, reducing emissions and driving down energy prices,” said Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio.

The Andrews Labor government estimates that the addition of more renewables to the grid will bring around AUD 32 of annual power savings for local households, while medium businesses and large companies will be able to save AUD 3,100 and AUD 150,000 per year, respectively.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.677/EUR 0.605)