AGL to hasten Macarthur wind farm energy law change
AGL Energy Ltd., the leading power distributor in Australia, intends to hasten the $700 million (A$800 million) wind farm at Macarthur after the Senate passed law revisions that impel investment on renewable energy.
The revisions give the energy industry the security to shell out on renewable energy projects, thus letting AGL Energy and Meridian Energy to hasten plans for the wind farm in Victoria. AGL announced this today to the Australian Stock Exchange.
Michael Fraser, Managing Director of AGL Energy said, "AGL now plans to fast track the final approvals for the development of the Macarthur wind farm, which when completed will be one of the largest wind farms in the southern hemisphere."
The revised Australian government plan urges for large-scale projects like wind farms to provide and meet the 20 percent target of generating the country's power from clean-energy sources by year 2020. Smaller projects will get a different treatment.
AGL posted A$14.98 in Sydney trade, at local time 12:13 pm - a gain of 1.8 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 Index increased by 0.5 percent.
Previously, AGLE Energy announced that it put on hold wind energy investments amounting to A$1 billion due to the uncertainty in securing RECs (renewable energy certificates). Its value fell when the government began to issue them to solar hot water technology users.