Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, Kane Thornton, has released a suite of policy recommendations and encouraged all political parties to adopt the recommendations contained in the industry’s election platform.

“The current Victorian Government is to be congratulated on the progress it is making on renewable energy and storage, and we urge all parties to ensure continued strong investment in clean energy to ensure lower power prices and empowered electricity consumers,” Mr Thornton said.

“The solar industry warmly welcomed the Andrews Government’s announcement of the $1.3 billion Solar Homes program recently, which will be administered by new agency Solar Victoria.

“Appropriate targeted initiatives can deliver lower power prices for renters and low-income households, while improving reliability over the summer peak period and cutting pollution.

“There are plenty of opportunities to make solar power more available for all, through initiatives much as solar for renters, and mandated energy affordability measures for renters which can be encouraged through tax breaks. We would like to see Labor, the Coalition and the Greens adopt these policies, which will take us closer to an energy system that is clean, affordable and reliable – as well as putting more power back in the hands of everyday Victorians.

“There have been some impressive announcements made recently, which give the industry great hope for the future beyond the next election.”

The Clean Energy Council’s election policy platform includes the following recommendations:

Rooftop solar and batteries

Solar for renters – facilitate the installation of solar on rental housing, at no up-front costs to tenants
Make all new-build homes energy self-sufficient with rooftop solar and potentially storage
Mandate minimum energy affordability levels on rental properties and allow landlords to claim energy affordability upgrades as tax offsets
Provide targeted support for batteries for low-income households, fringe-of-grid areas, bushfire-prone areas and affected rural industries, such as dairy, which have been severely affected by rising power prices in recent years

Large-scale renewable energy