There is strong support from industry and government MPs to drastically scale back the Renewable Energy Target (RET).
The existing target is to source 20 per cent of the nation’s energy needs from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2020.
The RET is currently being reviewed by a panel headed by businessman Dick Warburton with a report due to be presented to government in early August. Cabinet expects to respond to the report within two months.
Almost half the government’s backbench, some 25 Coalition MPs, have joined together to pressure Prime Minister Tony Abbott to scale back the scheme and significantly reduce the current 20/20 target.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) chief economist, Burchell Wilson, said draft modelling results from the RET Review show it is delivering subsidies to the renewable sector on a massive scale.
“The modelling shows that if the RET remains unchanged it will effectively deliver $37 billion in subsidies to the renewable sector for the life of the scheme,” he said.
“The RET is a major policy failure. The government’s review of this scheme is timely and it should act boldly on the basis of these findings.”
The government is currently overseeing more than a billion dollars of investment in renewable energy in Australia covering over 180 projects.
Federal Industry Minister, Ian Macfarlane, said Australian taxpayers have invested $1 billion dollars in a suite of renewable energy projects, which has also attracted another $1.8 billion in private investment.
“The investments have been made in almost 200 projects across all stages of the innovation chain – from research in the laboratory to large scale technology demonstration projects,” he said.