Labor’s power plan

Renewables focus as Shorten pledges $15b spend on energy

BILL Shorten will pour $15 billion into fixing the national energy network and driving new power generation if Labor wins the next election.

The huge investment includes money for a second connection to Tasmania, so it can act as the “battery of the nation”. Australian households will also get huge discounts on energy-saving batteries to support their solar panels.

Mr Shorten yesterday unveiled Labor’s plan for electricity, putting money aside to fund “value-for-money” projects.

“We will turbocharge the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, doubling its original capital with an additional $10 billion over five years,” Mr Shorten said in Sydney.

He’s also promised $5 billion to modernise the transmission network, including the second Basslink cable.

“Communities are going to be generating much more of their own power in their own neighbourhood. We need a national grid and network that supports this,” Mr Shorten said.

Labor will subsidise 100,000 household batteries, and aim to help 1 million more homes have battery systems by 2025.

“The beauty of the batteries is that the energy is going to be there when you need it, not just when the sun is shining,” Mr Shorten said. But Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton likened the idea to Kevin Rudd’s botched “pink batts” home insulation scheme and Julia Gillard’s failed “Cash for Clunkers” program.

“This pink batteries debacle is like the Cash for Clunkers,” Mr Dutton told 2GB radio. “These people just don’t learn the lesson.”

Labor also intends to put the National Energy Guarantee – the Coalition’s dumped energy policy – on the table for bipartisan support.

The Smart Energy Council estimates new household battery systems could help homes save more than 60 per cent on their power bills.