The Act's objective is to provide for the development, management and utilisation of renewable energy sources for the production of heat and power in efficient and environmentally sustainable manner. Distribution utilities and bulk electricity consumers are obliged to purchase a proportion of their energy from electricity generated from renewable energy. A Feed-in-Tariff guarantees the price of electricity generated from renewable energy resources. The Act establishes a fund to provide financial resources for the promotion, development and utilisation of renewable energy resources. Funds are to be used for capacity building, provision of financial incentives, feed-in-tariff, capital subsidies and equity participation for:
- Grid interactive renewable electricity.
- Mini-grid and off-grid renewable power systems for remote areas and islands.
- RE projects for non-electricity purposes.
and the promotion of:
- Scientific and technological research.
- Research into the establishment of standards for the utilisation of renewable energy.
- The production of equipment for the development and utilisation of renewable energy.
The Act was amended in 2020 to establish a competitive procurement scheme, a renewable energy purchase obligation for fossil fuel based wholesale electricity suppliers to mitigate the impact of climate change, and a net-metering scheme to encourage the self-generation of electricity from a renewable energy source on a climate change mitigation basis, and to empower the Minister to designate a public entity to perform specific functions in the area of renewable and clean energy.
