Renewable energy

Renewable Energy is the term given to energy which comes from natural sources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat, all of which are naturally replenished – i.e. renewable.

Renewable Energy Target

In 2009 the Federal Government implemented the Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme designed to deliver on their commitment to ensure that 20% of Australia’s electricity supply will come from renewable energy sources by 2020.

The RET initially introduced the Large Scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) and corresponding charge.  The LRET supports the implementation of renewable energy projects such as wind farms and commercial solar power stations. In 2010 the federal government acknowledged that the scheme would need to be expanded in order for Australia to successfully meet the 20% by 2020 target and passed legislation introducing a new component to the RET from 1 January 2011 - the Small Scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES).

From 1 January 2011 the RET scheme is made up of two parts:

• LRET – established in 2009 and supports the development of large renewable energy projects such as wind farms and commercial solar power stations. 
• SRES - established in January 2011 and supports the investment in electricity generation from small-scale technologies such as rooftop solar panels and solar water heaters. 

The combined LRET and SRES schemes are designed to fund the delivery of the Federal Government’s Renewable Energy Target by 2020. All electricity retailers contribute to this target via the Renewable Energy Certificate charge. The retailers, in turn, pass these costs onto their electricity contract customers as a part of their total energy costs.

What does this mean for you?

If you are impacted by this new charge, you would have already received a notification from us in writing about this change in your charges and how this change will be reflected on your Synergy electricity bill.

The new charge will be indicated on your electricity bill as a separate line item, so you can accurately see your contribution to the Federal Government’s National Renewable Energy Target.

To find out more about Renewable Energy, LRET and SRES visit the following websites for the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator at www.orer.gov.au and the Department of Climate change at www.climatechange.gov.au

To understand how SRES and the above may affect you, please click through to our FAQ’s.