Sharon Grierson (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just recently, Newcastle City Council announced it will bid for the federal government’s National Energy Efficiency Initiative, Smart Grid, Smart City. This initiative will support the installation of Australia’s first commercial scale smart grid, an advanced energy network that makes better use of available energy resources, can identify and resolve problems automatically and enable the most accurate consumer information about energy use and cost to be gathered.

Smart grids have the potential to transform the way we use energy in our homes and businesses. They use sensors, meters, digital devices and analytical tools to automate, monitor and control the two-way flow of energy across operations from power plant to plug. Smart grids also better incorporate renewable energy such as wind and solar generation and have the potential to support the widespread use of plug-in electric vehicles and other innovative technologies.

The successful tender for this initiative will be announced some time in early 2010 and, of course, as the member for Newcastle, I believe that Newcastle is the perfect fit. Newcastle has now firmly established itself as a centre for innovation and development in the clean energy sector. I have already talked at length in the House about the Clean Energy Innovation Centre and the Australian Solar Institute, both located in Newcastle. I know the Australian Solar Institute’s first board meeting will be held on Monday and I wish them great success.

These federal government initiatives place Newcastle at the forefront of clean energy research and development in the Asia-Pacific region. But they are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of progressive, innovative initiatives taking place. The Together Today program started in Newcastle in 2007 and has a stated aim to make the Hunter the most energy and water efficient region in Australia. Initially part of a Newcastle City Council business unit, Together Today incorporates ClimateCam, which commenced in 2001 and was the world’s first greenhouse gas speedometer. ClimateCam measures greenhouse gas emissions in the Newcastle local government area every day. In June of this year, at the National Awards for Local Government in Canberra, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that the ClimateCam initiative was the best local government program in Australia.

Local businesses have also been doing their bit to position Newcastle as a leader in the clean energy sector. Just this week, two local businesses, Crucible Carbon and Sunergy, located in the Hunter electorate, were announced as having received grants under the COMET program. This means that they can demonstrate great innovation and the potential to develop successful commercial technologies. Sunergy and Crucible Carbon are now the second and third Hunter based companies to receive COMET grants after Precision Roasting and Drying, another Newcastle company, received a grant earlier in the year. All three of these companies were awarded their grants for the development of innovative and environmentally conscious technologies.

Local schools are also doing their bit to support the push for Newcastle to be the centre of clean energy initiatives, with 34 schools having now registered for the government’s National Solar Schools program. I support Newcastle’s bid to become the Smart Grid, Smart City. (Time expired)