Lucy Baker
Environmental Resources Management Australia Pty Ltd (ERM)
Lucy Baker is a Planning Partner at ERM, Technical Fellow with Engineers Australia and a Registered Planner with the Planning Institute of Australia.
She currently prepares environment planning approval applications for the renewable energy sector for the development of solar farms, Battery Energy Storage Systems, Wind Farms and hydrogen gas turbine projects in Renewable Energy Zones in NSW. Lucy has over 30 years’ experience in both the Public and Private sector and work extensively with Commonwealth and NSW environmental legislation for permitting and approvals.
She understands the critical challenges and everyone’s responsibility on addressing Ecologically sustainable development and climate change.
Renewable Energy Zones in Australia
Without significant policy change or investment, the relationship between climate change impacts, biodiversity loss, food security and natural resource consumption will accelerate ecosystem collapse, threaten food supplies and livelihoods in climate-vulnerable economies, amplify the impacts of natural disasters, and limit further progress on climate mitigation. How can we translate these risks to prevent developing further economic, social, and nature-based vulnerabilities in Australia.
In Australia Governments can use renewable energy zones (REZ) as a planning tool to make sure new renewables can be coordinated with transmission, demand and prevent climate impacts in Australia. What needs to be done to make the REZ work from the planning perspective. What policy changes are required in Australia. What technology mix can we include in the REZ. Should we be extending our REZ to include manufacturing to better use our own resources in Australia. Co-locating our REZ near our populated areas is important, but how about ensuring that REZ are in the agricultural areas to ensure that we have adequate food supply for Australia.
How can industry work with government to help to address these issues and what does government need to do. Not only are there regulatory considerations, but also new economic frameworks that need to be further developed. Australia has many opportunities and ample space and resources that need to be considered for our future generations.
Ref: Renewables & rural Australia - Sydney Environment Institute and the Australia Institute - June 2022
