Friday 25 November 2022

South Australia is taking clear steps towards a zero carbon future, with leading stakeholders collaboratively working towards the state’s target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and public engagement underway on a proposed Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act and issues paper that will guide the development of a hydrogen economy and its integration with the expansion of renewable energy.

South Australia’s inaugural Energy Transition Roundtable members met this week to discuss the state’s way forward to meet its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Residential, commercial and industrial energy consumers, energy industry participants, investors, producers, market bodies, peak bodies, and research institutes at the session responded to the Energy Minister’s call to arms to work with government to define the challenges and opportunities for energy in South Australia over the next 20 to 30 years.

The workshop format gave interested groups scope to share their vision for energy in South Australia. That included outlining existing, emerging and future barriers for achieving those aspirations and exploring ways to overcome these barriers, as well as exploring opportunities to collaborate to meet the state’s carbon emissions targets.

South Australia has a reputation as a world leader in renewable energy adoption, moving from less than 1 per cent renewables 16 years ago up to almost 70 per cent renewables currently - and showcasing new technologies, such as grid-scale battery storage through investment in the Hornsdale battery.

South Australia is again showing leadership in the global energy transition, with the government inviting stakeholders to help set South Australia’s policy position heading towards net zero carbon emissions.

The state government will now consider key outcomes of the workshop, which will be incorporated into a Green Paper on issues relating to the state’s future energy requirements and its commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. In seeking collaboration to develop a Green Paper - which will also be made available for public consultation early next year - the South Australian government wants to harvest South Australian knowledge to create a document that will inform an Energy White Paper to be published in 2023.

This long-term Energy Policy will seek to address the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges that the conversation we have instigated this week will help identify.

Considerations include providing the state with reliable, cleaner, affordable energy; ensuring future education and job opportunities meet the needs of the transformed energy system; and that the needs of the community are understood and addressed.

The Green Paper will complement the state government’s $593 million Hydrogen Jobs Plan which includes building a hydrogen plant at Whyalla to bolster jobs and economic growth in the area and across South Australia.

Engagement also begins this week on a proposed landmark Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act, which will enable the orderly, competitive and government-led development of large-scale hydrogen and renewable energy projects within a regulatory framework.

For South Australia to realise its ambition to be a world leader in green hydrogen production for export and domestic use, stakeholders must have a voice in finalising the proposed changes. To ensure that voice is heard, members of the public are also invited to provide their feedback on the issues paper at YourSAy.sa.gov.au.

The South Australian government is committed to working with Native Title groups, recognising their status as co-existing landowners with the government and other Traditional Owners, to develop the proposed Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act, and support their ongoing participation in regulating the sector.

The government has already hosted a two-day forum in Port Augusta earlier this month where many of South Australia’s Aboriginal leaders gathered to discuss the growing renewable energy and hydrogen sector. This forum provided an initial opportunity for Aboriginal people and the government to work together to share information about guiding the successful development of renewable energy and the hydrogen economy.

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