In August 2009, the Government implemented the Renewable Energy Target (RET) Scheme, which is designed to deliver on the Government’s commitment to ensure that 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity supply will come from renewable sources by 2020. In ten years time the amount of electricity coming from sources like solar, wind and geothermal will be around the same as all of Australia’s current household electricity use.
On 26 February 2010, the Government announced changes to be made to the RET scheme to provide greater certainty for households, large-scale renewable energy projects and installers of small-scale renewable energy systems like solar panels and solar water heaters.
From January 2011, the existing RET scheme will be separated into two parts – the Smallscale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) and the Largescale Renewable Energy Target (LRET). Combined, the new LRET and SRES are expected to deliver more renewable energy than the existing 45,000 gigawatt-hour target in 2020. Further details on the new RET arrangements are available in the fact sheet (PDF 77 KB).
The Government has released a discussion paper (PDF 715 KB) on the new RET design and seeking feedback on the implementation aspects.
Electrical Contractors Licence No. 72214
