Renewable energy is critical to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and cut emissions. Continuous investment is required to improve the efficiency of production and to make the technology more accessible to all. With Australia’s Renewable Energy Target set to end in 2020, investments for renewable energy are expected to drop as it is unable to remain competitive with fossil fuel, even with a carbon price. WWF and Climate Risk are putting out a call to the government to extend the RET to 2030. Read more

Renewables at risk in 2020 without RET extension: report

By Climate Spectator (24 September 2012):

Australia’s renewable energy investment is likely to stall from 2020 unless the renewable energy target is extended out to 2030, according to a new report.

The modelling, released today by WWF and Climate Risk, suggests that with a carbon price and no increase of the RET after 2020, most renewable energy industries will collapse in 2020 and cease project development for between four and 32 years, until cost convergence is achieved subject to carbon price.

“If our renewable industries are to survive, governments must ignore calls from the Australian Coal Association, Origin and Australian Industry Greenhouse network to scrap or reduce the RET, and instead give industry and investor certainty by increasing it out to 2030,” WWF’s Climate Change National Manager, Kellie Caught, said.

The report makes the case for a 2030 RET of between 137,000 and 169,000 GWh, equivalent to between 43 and 53 per cent of forecast electricity demand.

Dr Karl Mallon, co-author of the analysis, said that even a carbon price at the upper end of expectations would not prove supportive for some clean tech development.

“Even with the highest carbon price scenario modelled, renewable industries like geothermal power, ocean energy, and solar thermal will stall in 2020,” he said.

“Clearly this would result in green collar job losses and an exodus of investment, but it also puts domestic emission cuts out of reach forcing Australia energy companies to go overseas for emission offsets for many years to come.”

http://www.climatespectator.com.au