The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment (Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme and Other Measures) Regulations 2021 have now been made into law. The amendments address the Australian Government’s response to recommendations made in the Clean Energy Agency’s (the agency’s) Integrity Review of the Rooftop Solar PV Sector, published earlier this year. The recommendations were made to improve quality, safety and compliance under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.
The updated regulations can be accessed via the Federal Register of Legislation.
Among these amendments are improvements to the administration and operation of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme, including to the application of exemption certificates for eligible emissions intensive trade-exposed activities (EITE).
Of note but not limited to, prescribed persons undertaking eligible EITE activities when applying for an exemption certificate will be required from 1 January 2022:
- to provide identifying information for all meters with a National Metering Identifier at the site of the emission-intensive trade-exposed (EITE) activity, not just for those meters supplying the data used to estimate the amount or volume of the EITE activity product in the exemption application. This can be relevant to verifying the electricity use amount for a site.
- where the total amount of exemption is likely to exceed 15,000 MWh:
- An audit report is required with an exemption certificate application every 5 years, reducing the frequency from every 3 years, and
- An updated audit report will no longer be required if an eligible EITE site experiences a change of ownership and the operations of the activity has not changed.
For more information
For more information on the amendment, you can view the amendment instrument, read the amendments to the renewable energy amendments become law news item, contact the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources at renewableenergy@industry.gov.au, or contact us.