Greens MP John Kaye has slammed two Federal Independent MPs over plans to allow woodchip-fired power stations to receive Renewable Energy Certificates.
Dr Kaye says Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor’s move to lift an exclusion on the generators could have broad consequences for south east New South Wales.
The MP says it will reignite interest in plans to generate fuel from woodchip timber waste near Twofold Bay at Eden.
He says the proposal had slipped off the radar.
“The developer of the power station lost enthusiasm for their development,” he said.
“Now, Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor are going to give it a new lease on life with disastrous consequences for the forests of the south east and jobs.
“We will see that proposal being pushed through the Department of Planning very rapidly.”
The developer, South East Fibre Exports, says the removal of Certificates was a key issue in determining whether the project could go ahead.
The company is now awaiting a determination of the generator’s Environmental Impact Statement from the Department of Planning.
Spokesman Vince Phillips says the latest Federal proposal breathes new life into the plans.
“It pretty well destroyed the viability of those sorts of projects,” he said.
“If that’s going to come back on stream, we can then sit down and make an ongoing assessment of the project and decide whether or not we want to proceed.
“The dollar keeps rising making capital equipment cheaper, so there’s a whole lot of other things that we need to consider.”
Mr Phillips says there was never a lack of enthusiasm about the project.
“If you’re buying a new car and someone removes the engine, you probably don’t want to go ahead with the purchase,” he said.
“So that was pretty much what happened when the RECs were pulled; they were a vital part of the viability of every renewable energy project.
“We think once that’s restored we’re on a more even footing with other people, and we can again look at the project in a full light.”
