Confirmation today that the Australian Federal Government will remove the legislated reviews of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) should clear the way for a deal to be done and return much-needed investment confidence to the Australian renewable energy sector, the Clean Energy Council said.
Namely, the Federal Government and Labor have agreed to cut the target from 41,000 to 33,000 GWh, to exempt trade-exposed industries from the target, and drop the biennial reviews, ABC reported this morning.
Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton said that the agreement to remove the review provision was the final major stumbling block for the renewable energy industry.
“I’m confident that a final agreement can now be negotiated which will deliver the necessary bipartisan support for the RET, restoring stability to the policy and allowing the industry to meet the revised target,” he said.
“It has been a tough 15 months, but this development will be a huge weight off the shoulders of the 20,000 people working in the industry. It will also help to unlock Australia’s massive renewable energy potential.
“I would like to thank the major parties for their flexibility and their willingness to work together in search of an outcome that will allow the renewable energy industry to deliver significant job and investment benefits to the Australian economy.
“This has been a challenging process for all concerned, and we are obviously disappointed with a reduction of the target. We remain concerned about the impact of this lower target on the opportunity for emerging technologies like large-scale solar, and will continue to work with both major parties on appropriate policy measures to address this.
“However, bipartisanship is essential to the success of renewable energy and it is only through the commitment of both major parties that we can now move to restore confidence and investment in the renewable energy sector,” he said.
Image: Carnegie Wave Energy (Illustration)