'The future of energy in Victoria is renewables-driven supported by appropriate storage solutions on a modern grid' | OPINION from state Liberal leader Matthew Guy
Between 2014 and mid-2021, Daniel Andrews maintained a ban first introduced by the Napthine Liberal government on exploration for onshore natural gas. Victoria is the highest consuming and most dependent gas state in the nation. This action blocked investment in critical supplies for the local market, meaning higher prices and a freeze on infrastructure development for the best part of a decade.
In 2017, the Victorian Liberals and Nationals announced a comprehensive plan to unlock safe, conventional onshore gas reserves whilst maintaining a ban on fracking. This plan included a domestic reserve to keep Victorian gas in the Victorian market – a policy Premier Andrews now describes as “really good policy”, despite having failed to implement it for five years.
Adding in more and more renewables without any proper plan to transmit, store or underpin this power is no longer good enough.Across Western Victoria right now, solar and wind generators are throwing away up to 7 per cent of their generated power year-on-year due to crippling bottlenecks on transmission networks. This is now a barrier to new renewable projects being developed.