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Hornery, Sonia to the
Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Water Utilities representing the Minister for Primary Industries, Minister for Energy, Minister for Mineral Resources, and Minister for State Development
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- What are the benefits of using green energy in domestic households?
- How many households in the Wallsend electorate currently subscribe to green
energy?
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Answer -
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- The generation of electricity from fossil fuels increases the amount of
greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. Generation from renewable sources
like wind and solar conversely do not involve a net increase in greenhouse gas
emissions.
The NSW Government accredits new renewable energy generators,
and the products offered by energy retailers under the GreenPower scheme.
Launched by the NSW Government in 1997, GreenPower is now a national scheme
managed by NSW. GreenPower allows electricity customers to voluntarily purchase
some or all of their electricity from accredited renewable energy sources,
reducing dependence on fossil fuel generation, reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and assisting the development of a robust renewable energy industry
in Australia.
The average household emits around 14 tonnes of greenhouse
gases each year in its use of energy and transport, and generation of waste. A
household purchasing 100 per cent GreenPower can halve greenhouse gas emissions
and make a substantial contribution to reducing emissions in NSW and Australia.
There are currently more than 645,000 GreenPower customers across
Australia and GreenPower sales in the 2006-07 financial year exceeded 1 million
mega watt hours.
- Specific data on GreenPower customers is not collated by the NSW Government
at an electorate level. However, EnergyAustralia advises that around 8,500
customers are subscribing to its GreenPower products in the greater Hunter
region. This represents around 5 per cent of customers in the region, compared
to the State average of 6 per cent of customers subscribing to GreenPower.
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Question asked on 27 November 2007 (session 54-1)
and printed in
Questions & Answers Paper No. 38
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Answer received on 18 December 2007
and printed in
Questions & Answers Paper No. 46
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