BHP Billiton has put forward a strategy for tackling South Australia’s energy challenges that involves “incentivising” large energy producers.
In a submission to the Finkel Review into the Future Security of the National Electricity Market, the company states, “We believe this can be most effectively achieved in the short-to-medium term by incentivising one or more generators to provide baseload generation when required, at least until longer term solutions are in place.’’
The mining magnate recently disclosed that the September 2016 statewide blackout, along with high energy prices, has virtually wiped out the Olympic Dam Mine’s 2017 profits to date. BHP has also announced it will halt its planned expansion of the mine until the government can guarantee a reliable supply of power.
Its proposal advocates:
- Repealing state-level renewable energy targets in favor of a national solution
- Incentivising large generators to provide baseload generation when required over the short term
- Nixing proposed gas exploration bans
- Strategically evaluating transmission infrastructure
- Adjusting the rules that currently govern the energy system to establish regulatory certainty, rather than continuing to debate new policies
The submission suggests that the company prefers a carbon tax to policies that favor specific approaches to reducing emissions.
“Australia must introduce national policies to meet our international commitments to tackle climate change,” the submission states. “Separate action by states or territories is likely to distort the implementation of national policies and increase costs with no net environmental benefit.’’
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