$20 billion of renewable investment ready to go

Clean Energy Council
17 December 2008

NATIONAL: The Clean Energy Council today welcomed the release of draft legislation outlining the rules for a 20 per cent renewable energy target (RET) by 2020. This has been a fundamental objective of the Council. The Council thanked the government for confirming its 2007 election promise and reaffirming its commitment towards the rapid development and deployment of the nation's renewable energy sector.

The Renewable Energy Target has the potential to unlock more than $20 billion worth of zero emission, clean energy investments and create thousands of new green job opportunities across the nation. "This policy has been a long time coming and we're relieved to see draft legislation tabled sooner rather than later," said Chief Executive Matthew Warren. "It represents an important step towards investors being able to bank new projects which deliver immediate emissions reductions ahead of the gentle ambitions of the carbon pollution reduction scheme."

Mr Warren said the draft RET legislation had introduced a number of novel policy initiatives which have not been discussed with industry. These pose a number of serious concerns about the effectiveness of the proposed legislation and its ability to provide the crucial development pathway and investor certainty for the industry.

"The task at hand now is to clarify these issues and find solutions to ensure that the government delivers on its election promises." "This draft legislation impacts on the future of the entire renewable energy industry. It is critical we get this legislation right to ensure the industry has the confidence to begin investing as soon as possible."

The 20 per cent (45,000GWh) by 2020 renewable energy target goes beyond the existing mandatory renewable energy target (MRET) originally set at 2 per cent (9,500GWh) and which has since resulted in over 6,500 gigawatt hours of new clean energy generated this year. The draft RET legislation is available for public download at www.climatechange.gov.au/renewabletarget