Media Release

24 June 2016

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The Baird Government has failed to deliver a plan in the budget for NSW to reach its renewable energy targets as the state falls well short of its target of 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020.

Despite NSW’s poor performance on renewable energy the Government has provided no detail in its latest budget about how it will invest in renewables in NSW aside from a brief mention in Budget Paper No.3 stating: “Supporting… renewable energy projects across New South Wales.”

NSW Labor Leader Luke Foley’s budget reply speech highlighted the draft regulation for wind farms is now five years overdue with NSW missing out on billions of potential investment while the Government sits on its hands.

NSW has been consistently ranked as the worst performing state or territory for renewable energy output.

The Government’s Clean Energy Action Plan Annual Report 2015 has shown that the share of energy coming from renewable sources has fallen from 12.9 per cent in 2014 to just 11.8 per cent in 2015.

Similarly, the Clean Energy Council listed NSW at the bottom of the States for renewable energy production in its 2014 report with only six per cent of its electricity coming from wind, solar and water.

The Climate Council’s report Renewables Race also found NSW had not increased its proportion of renewable energy in its electricity supply in two years.

New South Wales received the worst renewable report grade due to the lowest and falling percentage of renewable electricity, low large-scale renewable capacity per person, no renewable energy target and low levels of rooftop solar.

Quotes attributable to Shadow Minister for Industry, Energy and Resources, Adam Searle MLC:
“The Baird Government has dropped the ball on renewable energy for NSW. Despite big claims made in the Budget papers, there is no money for new investment in renewable energy projects.

“The Liberal and National Parties claim to support getting 20 per cent of our energy coming from renewables by 2020, but on their watch NSW is slipping behind.

“Under the Baird Government, NSW is not reaching its target and is getting further from it – with no plan to catch up in the next four years.”