MEMBER for Mallee Andrew Broad has encouraged Wimmera people to contribute to an inquiry into modernising Australia’s electricity grid.
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Mr Broad chairs the House of Representatives’ Environment and Energy Standing Committee.
The group is investigating the country’s current electricity transmission and distribution networks, and also the construction of a new electricity grid.
Mr Broad said input from residents, business owners and organisations about their expectations for how a new electricity system would work was important.
This month, Mr Broad travelled to Germany and the United States of America to research other grids.
“I went to Dusseldorf in Germany for two days, and to Berlin looking at wind farm and solar technologies,” he said.
“Our group went 1.2 kilometres underground to a black coal mine.
“We then travelled to America, and looked at how the electricity grid operates in the New York region.
“We went to Washington for a day and met with the equivalent of our committee in Congress.
“Then it was on to San Francisco to look at solar and wind technology, and also gas and coal.”
Mr Broad said much of what the standing committee handed down in parliament would become policy.
He said a lot of Australia’s research and development funding was being spent on renewable energy developments, such as wind power.
Wind farm projects are underway in the Wimmera, including at Kiata and Murra Warra.
“As a result, these things are becoming cheaper to build,” Mr Broad said.
“But you have got to have a backstop for how you generate power when it’s not windy and sunny, so the integration of the backstop with those technologies is important.”
Mr Broad said people could visit www.aph.gov.au/moderngrid to provide feedback via a survey.