Offshore wind doubles down on unaffordable and unreliable electricity
Sacrificing Australian energy security and experimenting with the development of an offshore wind industry will increase energy prices for Australian families and businesses while reducing energy security and reliability.
Australia previously benefited from some of the lowest consumer electricity prices in the industrialised world; but it now has some of the highest. This is because the federal and state governments have committed to the policy of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in addition to a series of shorter-term emissions reduction targets such as the 43 per cent reduction target by 2030 as mandated in the Climate Change Act 2022 (Cth).
Research by the Institute of Public Affairs has estimated that up to one-third of Australia’s agricultural land will be required to make possible a nationwide renewable expansion, led by onshore wind and solar. A report by the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Offshore Wind: Policy Directions Paper, published in March 2022, estimated that up to 70 per cent of Victoria’s farmland would need to be covered with solar and wind factories, and their supporting infrastructure, including high-voltage transmission lines, under a rapid rollout of onshore wind and solar.
It is in the context of emissions reduction targets and the acknowledged impact that onshore wind and solar will have on Australian land that governments are being asked to commit to developing an experimental and unproven offshore wind industry. The purpose of this letter is to share with the committee IPA research and analysis as it considers matters related to the offshore wind industry. The research finds:
Mainstream Australians prioritise affordability and reliability over meeting net zero emissions targets.
The case for offshore wind has not been made and would undermine Australia’s energy security.
Reliance on variable renewables including offshore wind to supply power will raise energy prices for Australian families.
