Australian Capital Territory
Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Renewable Energy Targets) Determination 2013 (No 1)
Disallowable instrument DI2013–271
made under the  
Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010, s 9 (Renewable Energy Targets)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010 (the Act) is an Act that sets targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase renewable energy use in the ACT. The setting of renewable energy targets is intended to be complementary to the greenhouse gas reduction targets established by the Act.

The Determination of a renewable energy target under section 9 of the Act is by way of a Disallowable Instrument which must be notified, and presented to the Legislative Assembly, under the Legislation Act 2001.

The purpose of this Determination is to set a 90 per cent target for the use of renewable energy (electricity) in the ACT by 2020.

The targets have been expressed in terms of electricity usage to ensure consistency with the general usage of the term ‘renewable energy’. 

The renewable energy target will be measured and reported through the ACT Greenhouse Gas Inventory based on the associated methodology as specified in s12 of the Act. 

The key principle adopted by the Government in determining what sources of renewable energy we can count towards our target is that of ‘financial responsibility’. That is, we can only claim the renewable energy where we pay the subsidy required to bring the renewables online.

Sources of renewable electricity generation, that the ACT is financially supporting, include:
•	ACT GreenPower
•	ACT share of legacy (below Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) baseline) renewable generation
•	ACT share of LRET generation
•	ACT rooftop photovoltaics (PV)
•	ACT large renewable generation supported by a Territory Feed-in Tariff, where large-scale generation certificates are voluntarily surrendered on behalf of the Territory. 

In order to meet the Territory’s 2020 greenhouse gas reduction target, the ACT Government estimates that the Territory will need to displace approximately 90 per cent of its electricity demand from the National Electricity Market with emissions-free renewable energy generation, outlined above.

The determination takes effect the day after notification.