Australia wasting A$1bln on greenhouse efforts - report
Date: 24-Jul-02
Country: AUSTRALIA
The Australian EcoGeneration Association's report, released yesterday, claims that large scale hydroelectric power stations will earn about 30 million Renewable Energy Certificates through the program without making new investments or reducing emissions.
Power retailers have to annually purchase a certain amount of certificates - each worth one megawatt hour - as part of the initiative, which intends to increase renewable energy use by two percent by 2010 and maintain it until 2020.
"Old large-scale hydro projects appear likely to earn more than A$1 billion from RECs, around a quarter of the total REC market available over the 20 years of the program," association executive director Ric Brazzale said in a statement.
"It would not be necessary for these generators to undertake further investment to earn this money."
He said the A$1 billion represented the loss of 600 MW of new wind and other renewable generation and around 400-500 direct sustainable jobs.