Relief, and despair, as tentative RET compromise reached

Australia’s renewable energy industry and its supporters have reacted with a mix of relief and despair – but mainly despair – to the news that the federal  government and opposition have tentatively agreed to a revised Renewable Energy Target of 33,000GWh.

The deal – which is yet to agree on the energy sources to be included, a new sticking point that Opposition climate spokesman Mark Butler has described as a “last minute red herring” – offers a glimmer of hope that the industry might soon be afforded the kind of political certainty that will allow it to get on with the business of developing renewables.

In a statement on Friday, peak renewables body the Clean Energy Council said the industry would “reluctantly accept” the resolution, along with the removal of legislated reviews, an unchanged small-scale scheme and the continuation and increased focus on initiatives to deliver technology diversity.

But for others, a 33,000GWh target falls too far short of the currently legislated 41,000 GWh figure – or 20 per cent – of renewables capacity by 2020, and of meeting Australia’s global climate obligations.

“The reported compromise is at best a band aid, but no solution to the challenge of modernising and cleaning up Australia’s old, inefficient and dirty power sector,” said John Connor, CEO, The Climate Institute on Friday.

“The government’s efforts to slash the 2020 renewable energy target has seen a collapse in Australian investment, just as global investments in renewables outstrips fossil fuel energy investments.”

“Whether investor confidence in this sector will return to pre 2020 levels is questionable, but it is important Australia has a strong and growing renewable energy industry,” Connor said.

“A cut to the RET is a betrayal of Australian households facing rising power prices and a slap in the face of workers in the renewable energy industry whose jobs are now at risk,” said Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner, Nikola Casule.

“Right now, the government is formulating Australia’s post-2020 emissions targets. Given the substantial reduction in our carbon emissions which will be needed to keep global warming to a safe level, Ministers Hunt and Macfarlane should be doing all they can to encourage more solar and wind power in Australia.

“Cutting the RET is exactly the wrong thing to do.”

New Greens leader, Richard di Natale said the Abbott-Labor deal would result in fewer jobs, less clean energy and more pollution from coal.

“This deal means more coal. More coal means less jobs in clean energy, more pollution, more cancer and more lung disease,” he said in a statement on Friday.

“For a young kid packing shelves in regional Australia it means less chance of a skilled and well paid job in the clean energy industry.

“We could have stood up to Tony Abbott just like we did on the GP co-payment but Labor has caved in to protect the coal industry,” he said.

Interestingly, the Victorian Labor government has also criticised the deal, describing the new target as “deeply disappointing.”

“After a year of stalling by the Abbott Government, which saw the clean energy industry shed jobs, the federal Opposition made the responsible choice to do a deal to secure as much future investment as they could,” said Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

“But cutting the RET has left Australia at risk of falling behind other nations in the transition to renewable energy and put Victorian jobs in jeopardy.

In a media statement on Friday, Andrews said his government was speaking with industry about what effects the deal would have on their businesses, and “what action could salvage some of the investment we’ll lose from this cut.”

Renewables advocacy group, Solar Citizens, said the cut to the RET would cost 8,000 jobs and be “particularly devastating” for companies looking to develop big solar projects.

“The Coalition’s proposal to include burning wood waste in the Target, which is the remaining sticking point for the deal, would be yet another horrendous step backwards,” said Solar Citizens national director, Claire O’Rourke.

“Renewable energy is recognised globally for the jobs, opportunities and savings on power bills that it can deliver. More than 1.3 million households – that’s at least 2 million voters – have already installed rooftop solar power and are now benefiting from lower power bills.

“Yet the decision today will take Australian renewable energy generation backwards,” she said.