Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act - Draft Bill

**UPDATE: The Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Bill was introduced into South Australian parliament on Thursday 14 September 2023. You can view a summary of our consultation feedback in our report**

Have your say on the draft Bill for a world-first Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act. 

What's being decided?

South Australia’s renewable energy sector is growing rapidly and there is tremendous potential for the state to become a global leader in renewable energy production and supply, delivering benefit to all South Australians.

In response to this opportunity, a Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act is being proposed to streamline the process for companies wanting to invest in large-scale projects in South Australia, bringing issues such as land access, environmental impacts and Native Title rights into a single regulatory process.

Based on feedback from a previous consultation regarding the Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act Issues Paper, a draft Bill for the Act has been developed and is now open for consultation.

Background

South Australia is a global leader in the transition to renewable energy. In just over 15 years, we have shifted our energy source from 1 per cent to around 70 per cent renewable energy and are powering towards a target of 100 per cent by 2030.

With our abundant renewable resources, South Australia is well-positioned to capitalise on the local and international shift towards clean, renewable fuel sources.

There is a significant amount of interest in establishing renewable energy projects on freehold land across the state, as well as on government-owned pastoral lands and state waters, which are co-owned by Native Title groups.

For South Australia to develop a sustainable industry that provides the best outcomes for communities, respects Native Title and delivers net environmental benefit, we need a fit-for purpose regulatory framework in place.

The proposed Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act aims to introduce a ‘one window to government’ licencing and regulatory system for the lifecycle of large-scale hydrogen and renewable energy projects in South Australia.

Under the proposed Act:

• Government owned land and waters where renewable energy projects can be hosted will be identified by the South Australian Government
• Companies will compete for licences to access government owned land and waters to deliver these projects
• New, fit for purpose licensing arrangements will be established for projects across all land types, enabling regulation of the whole project life cycle
• Public and worker safety will remain of primary importance to the assessment, approval and regulation processes for hydrogen activities
• First Nations people’s rights and interests will be considered early and throughout the regulatory processes
• A framework will ensure that developments are delivered with net environmental benefit
• Requirements will be put in place to ensure land is rehabilitated and returned to pre-existing conditions; and
• Multiple land use provisions will be sought to deliver fair outcomes for landowners, communities and other pre-existing land rights holders.

Get involved

Find out more by reading the following:

• Draft Bill - Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act
• Explanatory Guide to the Draft Bill
• Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act Process Diagram

Have your say by:

• Filling out the Draft Bill Survey (for comments on specific sections of the Draft Bill*)
• Providing general feedback; or
• Emailing a written submission to hre@sa.gov.au

*Note: If you have feedback on a specific section or sections of the Draft Bill, we ask that you provide this is in the Draft Bill Survey. You do not need to fill in the entire survey - simply fill in the parts you want to provide feedback on and click 'submit'.

Feedback closes 12pm, Monday 26 June 2023.

Find us across the state

Department for Energy and Mining staff will be visiting communities across the state as part of our consultation on the draft Bill. You can find us at the following locations:

• Clare: Tuesday 6 June, 10.30am-12pm - Clare Town Hall
• Port Pirie: Tuesday 6 June, 2:30pm-5pm - Primewest Shopping Centre
• Maitland: Wednesday 7 June, 10am-12pm - Maitland Town Hall
• Renmark: Thursday 8 June, 11.30am-2pm - Renmark Square Shopping Centre
• Whyalla: Tuesday 13 June, 11am-2pm - Westland Shopping Centre
• Port Lincoln: Wednesday 14 June, 10am-1pm - Nautilus Arts Centre
• Mount Gambier: Thursday 15 June, 11.30am-2pm - Mount Gambier Marketplace
• Port Augusta: Thursday 15 June, 9.30am-12pm - Northern Gateway Shopping Centre
• Ceduna: Thursday 22 June, 10am-1pm - Ceduna Memorial Hall

Watch our webinar

We hosted a live webinar on Wednesday 7 June

• Watch the webinar here

What are the next steps?

All feedback will be considered and will be used to inform a Bill that will be introduced to Parliament later in 2023.