Currently there is important work by the Tasmanian Government seeking to boost the state’s renewable energy capacity, implementing current policy on energy use and climate change. This work includes a proposed renewable energy zone in the north west Tasmania.
The term ‘renewable energy zone’ is a common phrase in the renewable energy sector but the term ‘zone’ may be confused with its use in the planning system. In Tasmania we have the Tasmanian Planning Scheme, which defines twenty three different broad land use planning zones. Land use planning zones promote preferred uses and development within certain zones, such as residential use and development in residential zones. ‘Renewable energy zones’ on the other hand, are a way to coordinate investment and the development of renewable energy projects into locations with high quality renewable resources that are developable and relatively unconstrained and preferable physical and meteorological conditions and where supporting infrastructure is available or planned. They are not a land use planning zone in the Tasmanian Planning Scheme.
The identification of renewable energy zones aligns with the draft Tasmanian Planning Policies and the strategies identified to promote renewable energy use and development. These will be taken into consideration as part of the regional land use strategies being reviewed and in turn will be a relevant consideration for any project being assessed under the Major Projects assessment pathway.
Any renewable energy project, whether inside the proposed renewable energy zone or elsewhere in Tasmania, is still subject to planning and environmental assessment requirements. The Government’s Renewable Energy Approval Pathway (REAP) initiative will support projects, such as wind farms and transmission lines, entering the Major Projects assessment process under the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993.
Read more about the Renewable Energy Approval Pathway initiative at Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania
