SHOALHAVEN 2020: SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS Dennis Argall Media Release 3 July 2008 Renewable energy. I sent this release out the day before Ross Garnaut issued his interim report. We do not need the winds of the last few days to remind us that we live in a windy place. We also know that electricity costs are rising now and going to rise and rise with fuel prices and national climate change policies. We have done nothing in the Shoalhaven to encourage renewable energy, the location here of renewable energy industries or education related to renewable energy. We remain entirely energy dependent on supplies from outside. Here are things we should be doing: [1] identify suitable locations and seek investment in wind farms (for example west and south of St Georges Basin) where land is flat, wind is frequent and significant and there are potential workforces [2] work to get renewable energy relevant education and training at Shoalhaven campus and at TAFE in Ulladulla and Bomaderry. [3] work to get the knowledge and fabrication industries located in the Shoalhaven to support rapid expansion of renewable energy equipment. We have industries in Flinders Estate regularly shipping industrial and engineeering products to Western Australia. There is a base to build on. [4] work at community level to help people insulate homes better and achieve greater energy efficiency. == China is the world's largest investor in renewable energy, China since 2006 has a Renewable Energy Law. The prospect of a major Chinese investment in property here (the Shaolin Temple complex) provides a potential window for getting Chinese investment into cutting edge technology in the Shoalhaven. The Federal Government has a renewable energy cooperation program with China. We need to get value from that too. If Barack Obama is elected President of the United States note his plan to spend %150 billion in 10 years on the infrastructure of renewable energy, to have 25% of US energy to be from renewable sources by 2025 and improve energy efficiency by 50% by 2030. The Garnaut Review will produce new Australian policy and programs which will be pushed also by developments in the US and China. We have to place ourselves to benefit from those new programs, not just suffer consequences. We must not stay flat footed in the Shoalhaven. There are opportunities in education, training, employment, costs savings for families and sustainable futures. The Shoalhaven leadership must stop sniggering about these issues and get real and act for the future, for jobs, for the next generations. Dennis Argall Close this window to return to previous document |