New RET review feared if Coalition wins in Australia

The Australian renewable energy sector is preparing for a possible blow if the Coalition wins the election on Saturday.

A tweet this morning by The Australian Solar Council says there are “rumours of a push for another review of the Renewable Energy Target [RET] after the election”. Green energy publication Renew Economy quoted John Grimes, head of the not-for-profit organisation, as saying that conservative politicians have already tried to “destroy” the RET and they will try again.

In early 2014 the Australian government appointed global warming skeptic Dick Warburton as head of a planned review of the RET scheme, which at that time called for 41,000 GWh of large-scale renewable energy generation in 2020. After many months of uncertainty the RET was cut. In June 2015 the Australian government and the Opposition reached a compromise deal and cut the target to 33,000 GWh.

The RET review resulted in a period of stagnation for renewables investments. The market has been slowly recovering in the past year, but Renew Economy says concern is mounting that big utilities and coal power generators in the country will push for another review.

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