Canberra to become first city 100% powered by renewables in 2025?
According to reports, Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Labor Chief Minister, Andrew Barr, will commit to a target of 100% renewable energy by 2025, making Canberra the first city to be powered solely by renewable energy sources. The Government is yet to announce how it plans to fill the final 10% of its target, as Labor's current target is 90% renewables by 2020. However, Labor plans to buy the bulk of its renewable energy through auctions. In February 2015, three wind farms each won a 20-year deal with the ACT Government to supply a third of Canberra's electricity demand within two years, and a second wind auction is planned this month.&nbsp;
ACT Labor will commit to a target of 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025, Chief Minister Andrew Barr will tell the party faithful at its annual conference on Saturday, making Canberra the first Australian capital to be powered entirely by wind, solar and other renewable sources.

Labor's current target is 90 per cent renewables by 2020 and to get there, it is buying power from five or six wind farms, three solar farms within the territory borders, and a big-dish-style solar project whose details have yet to be settled.

A wind turbine in Bungendore, NSW. Credit: Ian Waldie

Mr Barr will tell 327 delegates at the party's conference that the 100 per cent target is achievable, putting the ACT at the global forefront in its response to climate change.

"We can do this. We have shown it's possible – now we have one small step left," he said. "Canberra can and should be a beacon for everyone who realises the world must act decisively now to stave off a future of catastrophic climate change."