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Electricity generated by burning native Australian timber no longer classified as renewable energy
(The Guardian, 15 Dec 2022) Labor revokes Abbott government move which allowed energy from burning wood waste to be counted with solar and wind.
Electricity generated by burning native forest wood waste will no longer be allowed to be classified as renewable energy under a regulatory change adopted by the Albanese government.
The decision, which Labor had promised to consider after it was recommended by a Senate committee in September, reverses a 2015 Abbott government move which allowed burning native forest timber to be counted alongside solar and wind energy towards the national renewable energy target.
The right to burn wood left over from logging to create renewable energy certificates – which provide a subsidy for clean energy generation – was not often used, but conservation groups said it could be an incentive to keep felling native forests. They expressed concern that some power plant owners had plans to start using native forest timber as a supplement to coal-fired generation
The Guardian, 15 Dec 2022: Electricity generated by burning native Australian timber no longer classified as renewable energy
