Antinuclear

Investments in large-scale wind, solar and other clean energy sources dived 88 per cent in 2014 to $240 million, the lowest level since 2002, the energy consultancy said.

Australia’s global ranking sank 28 places from 11th with almost $2 billion invested in 2013 to just 39th last year.

“We recorded zero investment in the wind sector,” said Kobad Bhavnagri, lead analyst for BNEF in Sydney. Six of the seven largest projects were in solar power and involved support from government grants or the Clean Energy Finance Corp.

A breakdown in bipartisan support for the Renewable Energy Target was central to investment all but halting, Mr Bhavnagri said.

The Abbott government has sought to cut the target from the current goal of 41 terawatt-hours annually by 2020 to 27 terawatt-hours but has been blocked by Labor, the Greens and the Palmer United Party in the Senate.

Such a move would slash the value of renewable energy certificates, harming the viability of existing wind farms,  not only new ventures, companies such as Infigen Energy have said.

Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane sought to play down the impact of uncertainty……..

Labor’s policy is to reopen talks with the government but it “will not support any proposal that decimates the industry”, a spokeswoman for Mark Butler, shadow environment minister, told Fairfax Media.

“Tony Abbott’s goal is to protect the profits of old polluting industries like coal,” said the Greens environment spokeswoman, Senator Larissa Waters. “Any so-called compromise deal will be an attack on the RET and clean energy in Australia.”

BNEF’s Mr Bhavnagri said the uncertainty in the industry made it difficult to predict whether investment would improve in 2015.

“It depends entirely on what happens politically,”………

Hugh Saddler, principal consultant for Pitt & Sherry, said ………”Australia is almost unique in the world in combining an extremely emissions-intensive electricity generation industry with a negligible commitment to transforming the industry towards a low-emission future”

The only developed nations with a similar energy mix, Poland and Estonia, had none of the abundant wind, solar, wave and other renewable energy available to Australia, Dr Saddler said……..http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/australias-largescale-renewable-investment-dives-in-2014-20150112-12mbis.html