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2008-2009
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
THE SENATE
Geothermal and Other Renewable Energy
(Emerging Technologies) Amendment Bill 2009
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of Senator the Hon Nick Minchin)
Geothermal and Other Renewable Energy
(Emerging Technologies) Amendment Bill 2009
OUTLINE
This Bill seeks to ensure that emerging renewable energy source electricity will be able to gain a
share of the guaranteed renewable energy market in accordance with the table set out in the Bill.
Geothermal technology is included in the title of the Bill to stress the importance of this emerging
technology.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no identifiable budgetary impact.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1 - Short title
Provides for the Act to be cited as the Geothermal and Other Renewable Energy
(Emerging Technologies) Act 2009.
Clause 2 - Commencement
This clause provides that the Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
Clause 3 - Schedules
Provides that each Act that is specified in a schedule is amended or repealed as set out in the
applicable items in the Schedule and that any other item in a Schedule has effect according to its
terms.
Schedule 1 - Amendment of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000
Item 1 After paragraph 39(3)(a)
Insert:
(aa) for a year after 2014 and before 2031--the required GWh of emerging
renewable energy source electricity for the year; and
Item 2 At the end of Division 2 of Part 4
Add:
40A Required GWh of emerging renewable energy source electricity
(1) The required GWh of emerging renewable energy source electricity for a year is set
out in the following table:
Required GWh of emerging renewable energy
source electricity
Year GWh
2015 1375
2016 2875
2017 4375
2018 5875
2019 7375
2020 8875
2021 8875
2022 8875
2023 8875
2024 8875
2025 8875
2026 8875
2027 8875
2028 8875
2029 8875
2030 8875
(2) The required GWh of emerging renewable energy source electricity for a year specified
in subsection (1) is a component of the required GWh of renewable source electricity
for that year specified in subsection 40(1).
(3) The following table sets out the emerging technologies and their features that qualify
as providing emerging renewable energy source electricity for the purposes of
subsection (1):
Type of technology
Solar thermal energy · Evacuated-tube collectors
or Solar concentrator · Parabolic-trough collectors
energy
· Dish/engine systems
· Power towers
· Transpired collectors (heating
Geothermal energy · Flash steam power plants
· Dry steam power plants
· Binary cycle power plants
· Direct use geothermal (hot water
systems)
· Geothermal heat pumps (heating
Ocean thermal · Closed cycle electricity conversion
energy systems
· Open cycle electricity conversion systems
· Hybrid systems (a combination of closed
and open cycle systems)
Tidal energy Wave energy conversion systems:
· Channel systems
· Float systems
· Oscillating water column systems
Biofuels · Bioethanol
· Biodiesel
· Methane (produced by anaerobic
digestion)
Biopower (or Biomass · Direct-fired biopower plants
power) · Co-firing biopower plants
· gasification (e.g. Integrated Gasification
Combines Cycle (IGCC) coal-based power
generation
(4) The regulations may provide for additional emerging technologies to be added to the
table in subsection (3).
(5) A generation unit for a technology listed in subsection (3) must be 1 MW capacity or
greater to qualify as emerging capacity capable of providing emerging renewable
energy source electricity for the purposes of subsection (1).
(6) The regulations must make provision for the inclusion of emerging renewable energy
source electricity in relation to:
(a) the acquisition of electricity by a liable entity;
(b) the creation and transfer of certificates;
(c) the calculation of the renewable power percentage for a year;
(d) the required renewable energy of a liable entity for a year;
(e) the surrender of certificates by a liable entity for a year
(f) the renewable energy certificate shortfall of a liable entity for a year.