Ai Group comments on RET Review Issues Paper

The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) has made a submission on the Climate Change Authority’s (CCA) Renewable Energy Target (RET) Review Issues Paper.

“On balance, given that we have already travelled some distance down the road with the RET, it is not clear that removal of the scheme is practical at this point, nor that the benefits of possible removal would substantially outweigh the costs,” Ai Group CEO Innes Willox wrote in the submission’s covering letter.

“The better approach is to pursue steps within the existing framework to reduce costs without compromising investment and policy certainty.”

Steps to phase out or reduce support for small photovoltaic (PV) systems should be taken, Willox wrote, as solar PV becomes more affordable. This is the most urgent area for cost control, argued Willox, which “has dominated gross scheme costs for the last few years.”

“Public subsidy needs to scale back over time as the technology becomes more competitive if we are to avoid further unsustainable spikes in installation that inflate the cost of the subsidy,” Willox wrote.

“The RET review should be an opportunity for the Climate Change Authority to look beyond the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act to identify other policies at all levels of government that significantly affect the costs and benefits of the RET. Policies do not operate in isolation, and it is important that a national expert body consider the full picture.

“This broad view will be necessary as the Authority conducts its further reviews of the Clean Energy Act, the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting system, and the Carbon Farming Initiative in coming years.”

Ai Group’s full submission can be found here.