Age
Monday 3/5/2010 Page: 5
AGL Energy has criticised Canberra's energy policies, warning that Australia's reputation as a stable place to invest is threatened by delays to a green power scheme. Amid widespread industry complaints that companies are operating in a policy vacuum after last week's delay to emissions trading, AGL Energys chief executive, Michael Fraser, will today take aim at the renewable energy target (RET). In a speech to be delivered in Adelaide, Mr Fraser will warn of "very serious consequences" if Parliament fails to pass amendments to the RET, which requires 20% of all power to come from renewable sources by 2020. The troubled scheme was revised in March after generous subsidies for solar water heaters caused a slump in the price of renewable energy certificates, undermining investments in wind farms.
But the changes have not yet passed, leaving final investment decisions on renewable energy projects up in the air. Failure to implement them before the election would have "very serious consequences" for jobs, investment, and industry confidence. "Following the deferral of the introduction of the CPRS [carbon pollution reduction scheme], stability and certainty are not the first words that come to mind in relation to investors viewing the Australian power generation sector," Mr Fraser says. He will tell a Clean Energy Council conference today that passing the RET reforms would restore confidence. "If investment confidence is not restored this year, there is a real risk that global players may not return to Australia."
0 comments:
Post a Comment