Clean energy investment back on target, says CEC

The federal government’s review of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) has shown that the scheme is highly effective in driving the transition of the Australian energy sector at low cost to consumers, the Clean Energy Council (CEC) has said.

“The federal government has acted to lock in current and future investments in Australian clean energy and Australian jobs, by leaving the nuts and bolts of the scheme in place,” said CEC Deputy Chief Executive Kane Thornton.

“This policy has been a great economic success story since it was first introduced by the Coalition government in 2001 and then expanded by the Labor Government in 2009. It is excellent to see continued bipartisan support for the policy, which will deliver at least 20% of Australia’s electricity from renewable energy by 2020.

“All major political parties recognise the importance of policy stability to unlocking the massive investment opportunity in clean energy in Australia. This investment stability is only possible if both the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme and the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target of 41,000 gigawatt hours remain as legislated.”

Australia’s energy sector is transforming, Thornton said, with overall demand for electricity falling and the share of renewable energy growing strongly. Analysis by SKM MMA shows that the RET has already locked more than $18 billion in clean energy investment, from solar panels and hot-water systems through to large-scale technologies such as wind farms and hydro.

“We welcome the broad agreement that we should move towards less frequent reviews of the Renewable Energy Target, and we look forward to working with the major political parties to ensure any future reviews minimise the impact on investors and householders who are demanding more renewable energy in Australia,” Thornton said.