Antinuclear

Coalition election win would mean $4 billion in private funding sucked away from Australia’s renewable energy industry

Climate of uncertainty August 19, 2013 SMH, Ben Cubby, Tom Arup About $4 billion in private funding would be sucked away from Australia’s solar power and renewable energy industries over the next three years if the Coalition wins government, confidential data obtained from banks and financial analysts shows.

The Coalition’s climate change plan is also $4 billion short of the funding required to meet its promised 5 per cent cut in greenhouse emissions by 2020, and is on track for a 9 per cent increase by that date, according to analysis commissioned by The Climate Institute, an independent think tank.

Although the Coalition rejects that analysis, big investors are planning for the impact if Opposition Leader Tony Abbott axes the carbon price and dismantles the clean energy finance system.

They expect that about $4.1 billion in private funding would be funnelled away from large-scale renewable power, starving the sector of capital due to regulatory uncertainty and a lack of returns, according to sources in the carbon finance sector. This would likely lead to the construction of a rash of cheap wind farms after 2016, to meet the mandatory renewable energy target, which commits Australia to 20 per cent clean power by 2020.

”Under this scenario, the winners are probably going to be the gas guys and the wind guys. You will see a charge towards getting lots and lots of wind farms up at lowest cost because you have still got to meet the [renewable energy target],” a source within the sector said. ”It’s going to change the shape of the industry.”

Mr Abbott said on the weekend that spending under his ”direct action” climate change plan would remain capped at $3.2 billion, even if it meant missing the Coalition’s pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 5 per cent by the year 2020. http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/climate-of-uncertainty-20130818-2s55k.html#ixzz2cYRJLlFn

August 20, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | election 2013, energy