There are lots of unanswered questions when it comes to the Coalition and their approach to renewable energy.
They support the Renewable Energy Target and they supported the creation of Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). But more recently Shadow Treasurer, Joe Hockey, has promised to tear down the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Shadow Finance spokesperson, Andrew Robb, launched an extraordinary attack on the renewables industry, describing them as “vested interests” and “white shoe salesmen”.
Their Direct Action plan has few friends in the economics profession, most of whom see it as the ‘Claytons Plan’ – the plan you have to tackle climate change when your leader and half your party thinks climate change isn’t real.
Against this backdrop Lindsay, Dean and I went to meet with Greg Hunt, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, at his Treasury Place office in Melbourne. We wanted to tell him about our plan to see 2000MW of big solar delivered by the end of 2015 and find out if the Coalition would get behind it.
We were also keen to explore whether the Coalition could play a constructive role around the Clean Energy Finance Corporation by negotiating improvements to it in parliament.
Sadly, Mr Hunt confirmed that the Coalition will simply reject the CEFC. The result of this would be at least another three years of uncertainty in renewable energy investment while frustrated investors stay on the sidelines waiting for policy clarity. It also means that the Coalition would deal themselves out of the CEFC negotiation process simply because they oppose the carbon price. Big fail there.
Mr. Hunt explained that there were mechanisms in his Direct Action Plan that would deliver 6000GWhof emerging renewables by 2020. If it was all solar, this might amount to 2000MW (we’ll check out the sums on this and get back to you) and it would be replacing mature renewables like wind as it would be drawn from the Renewable Energy Target quota.
This answer didn’t inspire us with confidence either. There were no guarantees the 2000MW of solar would actually be built, it would be renewable energy that would be built anyway and, if it happened at all, it wouldn’t be happening until the end of the decade, well short of the 2015 deadline which is eminently achievable.
The one thing Mr Hunt was able to give us was an assurance he would support our requests for meetings with Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey and Andrew Robb.
100% Renewable will continue to encourage the Coalition to take the progress of big solar seriously in Australia and to play a constructive role in the discussion around the CEFC.
These are questions we will be taking up with them again in coming months.
The outcomes of the meeting were as follows:
- We outlined our campaign activities so far, showing pictures of groups involved with the campaign, and outlined our campaign objective to have 2000MW of big solar projects built by the end of 2015.
- We outlined our belief that the Clean Energy Finance Corporation was the best instrument to achieve this given we cannot afford further delays with investment in and deployment of large scale solar technologies.
- We requested the coalition provide bipartisan support for the CEFC, negotiating improvements if necessary.
- Mr Hunt confirmed that the coalition would not support the CEFC.
- Mr Hunt informed us that only $900m was budgeted to be spent by the CEFC through to FY 2014/15
- Mr Hunt confirmed the coalition's ongoing support of the Renewable Energy Target and suggested there may be potential for the coalition to support a position of increasing the RET to cover the banding for emerging technologies outlined in the Direct Action Plan.
- Mr Hunt suggested that the banding of 6000GWH in the RET could potentially build 2000MW of solar, though it would not be completed until the end of 2020.
- Mr Hunt confirmed you would contact the offices of Mr Abbott, Hockey and Robb and support our requests for a meeting with them.
