New Boost for Wind Industry in Australia: State of Victoria implements new Promotion Scheme

At the World Wind Energy Conference WWEC 2005 in Melbourne, Australia, in November 2005 the Premier of the Australian State of Victoria, Steve Bracks, opened the Conference with an announcement of a new Victorian Governmental policy. Victorian Energy Minister Theophanous provided more detail of the policy to the Conference. Now, in July 2006, the fruits of that policy announcement can be seen.

On 17 July 2006 the Premier Steve Bracks and Energy Minister Theo Theophanous announced a renewable energy scheme with a mandatory target which will increase renewable energy to 10% by 2016, equalling almost a triplication of today’s renewable energy capacity and a reduction of 27 million tonnes of greenhouse gases. The major development will be in new wind farms with up to 1000 MW of new installations, but solar and biomass are expected to develop on the back of this new endeavour.

The joint hosts for the WWEC 2005, World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) and Renewable Energy Generation of Australia (REGA), congratulate the Premier and have now welcomed the initiative which will see a huge upsurge of wind farm and other renewable energy development in Victoria – Australia's second-most populous state.

"This is a most welcome development and provides real leadership to the other states of Australia," says Peter Rae, Chairman of REGA and Senior Vice President of the WWEA. “We will do everything we can to encourage other states to follow so that Australia can keep its leading position in wind energy in the Australian-Pacific region.