Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane has reported the Government’s ‘preliminary’ position on the fate of the renewable energy target and it has increased the path of destruction all these RET reviews are making.

With the industry facing such uncertainty over the course of all these RET reviews the sector has basically been put ‘on hold’ with many waiting to see what the government will do and if some sort of stability will be established. The effects have been very real with some downsizing and closures already occurring.

Mr. Macfarlane has come out saying that their stance on the RET at the moment entails slashing it to the ‘real 20%’, exempting all emissions intensive industries from the RET, leaving household solar as it and ending 2 yearly reviews.

While it feels positive to finally have some inclination as to what they are thinking, there are not too many details being released and it feels a bit cryptic. They have ‘told’ us what they think but they can still basically do anything they want. For example, saying there will be ‘no change to household solar’ does not really tell us if they are changing the threshold between what is considered as small and large scale solar. They will ‘end the 2 yearly reviews’ does not tell us what kind of reviews it will be subject to and how often.

Even though the RET would ultimately remain it must be pointed out that reducing it to the ‘real’ 20% still entails a 60% drop. Large scale solar is going to be dramatically affected and investments in wind farms, solar farms and the likes will become almost non-existent.

Many have also said that if you make some industries exempt others are also going to try and jump on the bandwagon.

“The Renewable Energy Target legislation that has been supported by all political parties for over a decade is explicit about the 41,000GWh target, and the Coalition re-stated its commitment to it in the lead up to the recent election,” said Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton. “Moving the goal posts so significantly on investors would result in massive asset devaluation, job losses and business closures, and send a signal to international investors that Australia is closed for business.”

“Labor has made it clear that we will engage in discussions. But we’ve got a no-go, we’ve got no-go zones. You know, the Government says they want a real 20 per cent, I call it a fraud 20 per cent, a fake 20 per cent,” said Labor Leader Bill Shorten. “The truth of the matter is that renewable energy is part of our energy mix, it’s had a great benefit for a whole lot of consumers. We’ve seen 1.2 million households have gone to having some part of their energy from solar power. We’ve seen thousands of jobs created, thousands of jobs created, and we’ve seen billions of dollars of investment. The real damage that this Government is doing in renewable energy cannot be overstated.”

Australian Greens Leader Christine Milne says, “There is absolutely no reason, and no excuse, for weakening the Renewable Energy Target. The Labor Party must stand firm and reject this deal outright.”

National co-ordinator of the Australian Wind Alliance Andrew Bray said, “What the government has indicated today is that it wants to increase the massive profits of big power companies by charging everyday Australians more for their electricity.”

Government negotiations with Labor will continue in the hopes of reaching a bipartisan deal.