The Clean Energy Council (CEC) recently released a paper outlining five innovative ideas that could help generate more than 2000 jobs in Victoria.
Titled, Quick Clean Energy Jobs For Victoria – the paper explores how a raft of jobs in clean energy sectors like solar power and solar hot water could be added quickly by making a number of simple tweaks to policy.
These measures, according to the CEC, are particularly important to Victoria which has felt the impact of decisions by several major Victorian-based manufacturers to exit the Australian market. The CEC paper contends that ‘the state needs new jobs that are sustainable, in sectors that have significant future growth potential.'
It goes on to mention that changes in policy to boost sustainable jobs would not only improve employment levels, but also offer ‘a range of other social, economic and environmental benefits.’
As part of the CEC’s recommendations, it has focused on simple and clear courses of action which would not require lengthy development of programs or regulations.
These include:
- Financing solar hot water and heat pumps for households that receive electricity concessions
- Extending the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target (VEET) scheme and re-introducing insulation as an eligible activity
- Introducing ‘three-way contracts’ for public housing tenants and working to provide consumer protections and education for landlords about going solar
- Removing red tape which makes Victoria the least attractive place to invest in financing models for commercial solar power
- Exploring the feasibility of converting municipal waste into energy in regional Victoria
Though at this point in time, the pending decision on Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) will have the most impact on renewable energy jobs in Victoria, there are still plenty of areas that can be expanded, according to CEC Acting Chief Executive, Kane Thornton:
‘Obviously the outcome of the current review of the Renewable Energy Target will have a significant impact on the future of renewable energy in Victoria, and its associated jobs, and therefore we encourage all Victorian political parties to support the current RET policy. But there is more that can be done,’ he said.
To see the Quick Clean Energy Jobs For Victoria paper, head to the CEC website.
