Bowen dramatically expands green energy support

afr.com:

The Albanese government will supercharge its struggling 82 per cent clean energy goal by dramatically expanding its underwriting of green generation and storage, effectively replacing the Renewable Energy Target favoured by some wind and solar proponents.

In a major overhaul triggered by growing fears of grid instability as coal and gas exits the system, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen will present state and territory counterparts with an expanded “Capacity Investment Scheme” at a meeting on Friday.

The Liddell Power Station wiill now become the site of mega-battery after its coal-fired power station permanently closed in April 2023 Janie Barrett

The shake-up, which specifically excludes support for gas projects, aims to accelerate investment in wind, solar and batteries by giving proponents certainty over their revenues.

In an effort to unlock regulatory bottlenecks, it also contains incentives for states and territories who streamline approval processes by dangling a greater share of six-monthly “capacity auctions”.

The federal government will not reveal the predicted total cost of underwriting 32GW of new energy projects, but it will be “on budget” and has been approved by the expenditure review committee. The total generation capacity of the National Electricity Market is now about 65GW.

Mr Bowen said the expansion of the Capacity Investment Scheme would more than double renewables across the nation, adding 32 gigawatts of capacity, on top of 28 gigawatts of clean energy already in the National Electricity Market.

He said the changes would underwrite “new renewable generation and storage, providing certainty for renewable investors and cheaper, cleaner energy for households and businesses. It also