Legislation boosts Queensland’s clean energy, mine safety

Legislation introduced in Queensland Parliament today will boost clean and efficient energy use and will help make the state’s mines safer.

Mines and Energy Minister Geoff Wilson said the Clean Energy Bill included provisions to:

·increase Queensland’s 13% Gas Scheme target to 15% in 2010

·provide for the commencement of the Solar Bonus Scheme

·provide for the implementation of a Smart Energy Savings Program for large energy users

·require mines to provide information about serious or fatal accidents

Mr Wilson said the proposed amendments included increasing the current 13% Gas Scheme, which requires all energy retailers to purchase 13% of their electricity supplies from gas-fired generation sources, to 15% in 2010.

“As well as boosting cleaner electricity generation through a greater use of gas as a fuel source, the proposed increase also provides certainty for current and prospective investors in the gas sector,” he said.

Mr Wilson said the amendments also paved the way for the introduction in mid-2008 of the Solar Bonus Scheme announced in March by Premier Anna Bligh and himself.

“Under the Solar Bonus Scheme, households and small businesses will be paid 44 cents for every surplus kilowatt-hour fed into the electricity grid from solar power systems at home and at work.

“We have set the solar feed-in tariff at a higher amount of 44 cents - more than triple the standard market rate for households, excluding GST, to stimulate the solar energy market and encourage greater uptake by residents and businesses.”

The Smart Energy Savings Program will initially target businesses that consume between 100 terajoules (TJ) and 500TJ of energy a year. This equates to the annual energy use of between 2800 and 14000 residential properties.

These businesses will be required by legislation to produce an Energy Savings Plan, which will include identification and implementation of energy reduction opportunities in their business.

“Energy efficiency is a low-cost solution to reducing energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions,” Mr Wilson said.

“It is now time for Queensland industry to play its part and to adopt, into its everyday business life, operating procedures and technology that will reduce their energy use.

“The benefits are threefold – the businesses reduce their energy costs, we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by using less energy and we reduce demand on our energy network.”

Mr Wilson said today’s Bill also proposed amendments to the mining and quarrying safety and health legislation to ensure that timely information would be provided to officers investigating fatal and other serious mining accidents.

“The need for these amendments was made apparent by a fatal underground accident at the BHP Billiton Cannington mine on 17 January this year,” he said.

“Mine workers, acting on legal advice, refused to provide the location of the accident to the mines inspectors who attended the mine to investigate.

“It was over 28 hours before investigators were provided with the relevant information to enable them to commence their investigation.

“To prevent this happening again, the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 and the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999 are to be amended to ensure that persons with relevant knowledge about the location, time and circumstances of a serious mining accident must provide that information to investigating officers.

“This will ensure police and Mines Inspectorate officers can get accurate information as soon as possible so they can go about their business of investigating incidents, saving lives and making Queensland’s mines as safe as possible.”

Media inquiries: Caroline Kaurila 3224 7332.