The failure of the Turnbull government to settle on a clean energy target risks it losing just restored momentum in the clean energy industry and undermining the credibility of Australia’s global climate commitments as stated by Jerome Pecresse, head of General Electric’s renewables division.
GE has $1.6 billion in new wind farm projects in the pipeline in Australia that will add 800 megawatts of capacity to the grid as the energy industry rebounds from policy uncertainty during the Abbott government.
The divisions within the federal Coalition have prompted the Turnbull government to postpone a decision on a clean energy target beyond the year 2020, as recommended by the Finkel Review into energy security by Australia’s chief scientists Alan Finkel.
Pecresse said that at some point in time, international capital will need assurance about political stability and visibility so go on to flow into Australia. And although there’s the absence of an energy policy after the end of the decade, it will not be a doomsday scenario but developers will build fewer wind and solar plants. Building them will be more costly and will slower to roll out.
The momentum will just fade without a target and the ability of Australia to meet the Paris agreement target will become less and less credible.
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