Member for Eden-Monaro Mike Kelly has welcomed news of an expansion of the Snowy Hydro Scheme, but also said it highlighted the federal Liberal government’s “hypocrisy” on renewable energy.
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Dr Kelly said he welcomed a feasibility study into several sites across the scheme “which could support new large-scale, pumped hydro-electric energy storage and the thousands of jobs it will bring to Eden-Monaro”.
“The plans to double the size of the Snowy Hydro Scheme, along with new wind farm projects planned for our region, is delivering on my vision to make Eden-Monaro the renewable flagship for the nation, generating full time, well paid and rewarding jobs,” Dr Kelly said on Thursday.
”Sadly the Turnbull government doesn’t have an overarching plan for our national energy market and today’s announcement is an admission that the Coalition government’s talk of the failure of renewable energy was all lies.
“Ironically this new plan will depend on a power arrangement with South Australia’s wind farms to assist with the pumping process.”
Dr Kelly said investment in renewable energy under the current Coalition government “has fallen off a cliff”, down 88 per cent since Tony Abbott took office in 2013.
“Our nation needs policy certainty and a national plan to encourage private investment back into renewable energy,” he said.