EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water
Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Act 2009
Proclamation
The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Act 2009 (the Amendment Act) amended the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (the Act) to replace the existing Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) scheme with a national Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme.
The RET scheme aims to see an annual 45,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of eligible renewable energy produced in Australia by 2020, in comparison to the previous MRET scheme which had a 2010 target of 9,500 GWh. The 45,000 GWh renewable energy target is designed to ensure that the equivalent of at least 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity supply is generated from renewable sources by 2020.
Subsection 2(1) of the Amendment Act provides, in part, that items 6 and 7 of Schedule 3 to the Amendment Act commence on a day to be fixed by Proclamation. However, if any of these provisions do not commence within nine months of the date the Amendment Act receives the Royal Assent, then those provisions commence on the first day after the end of that nine month period. The Amendment Act received the Royal Assent on 7 September 2009.
The purpose of the Proclamation is to fix 18 April 2010 as the day on which items 6 and 7 of Schedule 3 to the Amendment Act commence.
The amendments in Schedule 3 to the Amendment Act relate to the transition of state renewable energy target schemes (such as that established by the Renewable Energy Act 2006 of Victoria) into a single national RET. Item 6 of Schedule 3 provides a mechanism for renewable energy certificates (RECs) under a state RET scheme to be surrendered and for equivalent numbers of RECs to be created under the Act. Item 7 ensures that nothing in that mechanism renders the Commonwealth regulator liable to be prosecuted for an offence.
The commencement date of 18 April 2010 allows an early opportunity (before 15 May 2010) for a relevant state regulator to apply to the Commonwealth Regulator for the creation and registration of RECs under the Act (by 15 June 2010) in accordance with item 6 of Schedule 3 to the Amendment Act, and would empower the Commonwealth Regulator to action such an application. The administrative arrangements necessary for this to occur are now in place.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Authority: Subsection 2(1) of the Renewable Energy
(Electricity) Amendment Act 2009