Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (6) and (7) on sheet 6116 together:

(6)    Schedule 1, page 65 (after line 19), after item 121, insert:

121A  Subsection 39(3)

After “subsection (1)”, insert “for a year until the year ending on 31 December 2030”.

121B  After subsection 39(3A)

Insert:

      (3B)    Before the Governor-General makes a regulation under subsection (1) for the year commencing on 1 January 2031 and any later year until the year ending on 31 December 2040, the Minister must take into consideration:

             (a)    the required GWh of geothermal energy source electricity for the year; and

             (b)    the amount estimated as the amount of electricity that will be acquired under relevant acquisitions during the year; and

             (c)    for a year after the year commencing 1 January 2031—the amount by which the required GWhs of geothermal energy source electricity for all years from and including 2031 has exceeded, or has been exceeded by, the amount of geothermal energy source electricity required under the scheme in those years; and

             (d)    all partial exemptions expected to be claimed for the year.

      (3C)    If, at the time the Minister takes into consideration the matters referred to in subsection (3B), the amount applicable under paragraph (3B)(c) is not known, then the Minister may take into consideration an estimate of that amount instead.

(7)    Schedule 1, page 67 (after line 6), after item 124, insert:

124A  At the end of Division 2 of Part 4

Add:

        (1)    The required GWh of geothermal energy source electricity for a year is set out in the following table:

Support is currently being provided for emerging technologies, and this is positive recognition of the future opportunities that renewable technologies may provide. In the case of geothermal energy with geothermal hot rocks, which is when power is extracted from heat stored in the earth, drilling and exploration for such deep resources is very expensive. These are long-term projects spanning 20 to 30 years in terms of being able to pay it back. There is enormous infrastructure involved, and they require certainty to secure investment. It is for this reason that I move these amendments which will extend the renewable energy certificates for geothermal projects for an additional 10 years after the RECs are currently due to end in 2030.

This will see RECs for geothermal projects continue until 2040 and will provide the industry with the certainty it needs, the certainty it deserves, to secure investment so that these emerging renewable technologies can be advanced and maximised. In relation to this, geothermal hot rock technology has the potential to provide that baseload power that we need. Wind energy cannot do that. It is the one technology which can provide that 24/7 access to energy that we need, but they need that investment certainty. Given the scale of the projects, given the emerging technologies in relation to this, the RECs ought to be extended another 10 years.