Antinuclear

With the carbon tax potentially to be scrapped when the new Senate sits after July, Prime Minister Tony Abbott and other senior Coalition figures have increasingly set their sights on the mandated target for renewable energy, blaming it for forcing up power prices.

New wind farm projects are often stalled at state level and NSW has also delayed new guidelines for wind farms for two years, adding to industry uncertainty.

The offices of NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell and Mr Abbott denied Mr O’Farrell had told cabinet colleagues last week that the release of wind farms guidelines was not a priority because Canberra would cut the renewable energy target “to 10 per cent”.

Clean energy sources such as wind and hydro already supply more than 10 per cent of the nation’s energy on occasion. The Abbott government is likely to set the terms of the renewable energy target review and who will be running it within weeks…….

Hugh Saddler, principal consultant with energy advisers Pitt & Sherry, estimated large wind and hydro energy plants supplied 13.3 terawatt hours of electricity in 2012, about a third of the 2020 goal.

Infigen Energy managing director Miles George said the “constant threat of change to the legislation” from industry reviews had all but frozen new investment in the sector.

“The effect on our business, and for the industry in general, is paralysis,” he said.

Infigen had secured approval for new wind farms worth $2 billion in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia but these were stalled by the uncertainty, he said.

Clean Energy Council chief executive David Green said any major reduction or change to the renewable energy target would have a significant impact on the $10billion worth of investment already poured into the industry, with another $18 billion likely if the current goal remained……
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/clean-energy-firms-fear-cuts-to-targets-20140209-32a0v.html#ixzz2svNJiCF4