Federal climate policy: cheap and green if efficiency lessons learned
Monday, 12 July 2010 12:53
Reducing peak demand pressure on electricity networks and an ambitious energy efficiency target are essential for any energy efficiency program the Commonwealth Government proposes, if it is serious about protecting consumers from rising energy costs and tackling climate change, Total Environment Centre (TEC) said today on release of a new report into efficiency lessons.
TEC’s new report Demand Management and Energy Policy Development: A Case Study of NSW clearly illustrates the cost-effectiveness of demand management using the industry’s own data. Reducing demand is at least half the cost of building new infrastructure, the report shows.
“Of the $42 billion plus electricity network investment scheduled that Australians will pay for over the next five years, almost a third could be avoided by energy efficiency, cogeneration, distributed generation and reducing peak demand,” said TEC Executive Director Jeff Angel..
“With cabinet considering energy efficiency programs tomorrow, it is crucial that they include demand management in any scheme,” said TEC Executive Director Jeff Angel. “Peak demand is driving expensive and inefficient network expansion simply to service spikes that occur very infrequently. Demand management can avoid or defer the need for this infrastructure, saving consumers money and reducing pollution.”
“The Government must commit to ending overall growth in demand by at least 2015 and then reducing it up to and beyond 2020. This will require an energy intensity improvement target of 50% by 2020, as the economy and population continue to grow. An ambitious energy efficiency target is achievable if supported by an emissions trading scheme.”
The government is expected to announce a national energy efficiency scheme this week, and TEC is calling for a 50% energy intensity improvement target from 2010 levels by 2010 and the inclusion of annual peak demand reduction targets, mandated for distribution networks. To ensure cost-effective reductions, peak demand reduction would be targeted to areas flagged for expensive expansion.
“For too long
