Policy & Advocacy

Renewable Energy Target

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Australia's Renewable Energy Target is a Federal Government policy designed to ensure that at least 20 per cent of Australia's electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020.
 
The policy has support from both sides of politics, having been introduced by the Howard Government in 2001 and increased by the Rudd Government in 2009.
 
The target comes under review every two years, and the Clean Energy Council has been strongly advocating that the target should be maintained in its current form in order to provide policy stability to attract investment. The Climate Change Authority completed a review of the scheme in December 2012 that recommended no significant changes to the scheme, and the Australian Government is required to respond within six months.
 

Renewable Energy Target review final report

The Climate Change Authority published its final report on the Renewable Energy Target review in December 2012 and the report's key recommendation was that the target should be maintained in its current form.

The Clean Energy Council welcomed the final report and called on federal politicians to restate their commitment to renewable energy.

Click here to view the Climate Change Authority's report.
Click here to read our media release on the report.

Benefits of the Renewable Energy Target report

The Clean Energy Council has released a report from leading consultant SKM MMA on the benefits of the Renewable Energy Target, in light of the review undertaken by the Climate Change Authority.

The Benefit of the Renewable Energy Target to Australia's Energy Markets and Economy report found:

  • $18.5 billion in new investment has been generated to date as a result of the target, with the potential for $18.7 billion more if the policy is retained in its current form.
  • Wholesale energy prices are up to $10 per megawatt hour lower thanks to the policy.
  • Australia's carbon emissions are 22.5 Mt CO2e lower as a result of the target.
  • If left unchanged, the target will result in 12 per cent less coal-fired generation and 13 per cent less gas-fired generation.

Click here to read our media release on the report.

Industry response to calls for changes to the Renewable Energy Target

Some energy companies have been campaigning to have Australia's 20 per cent Renewable Energy Target reduced. The Clean Energy Council has prepared a paper examining some of the central arguments and the implications for investment in renewable energy.

Click here to download the paper.

Submission to the Climate Change Authority's Renewable Energy Target review

As part of its review of the Renewable Energy Target, the Climate Change Authority called for submissions to an issues paper in September 2012.

The Clean Energy Council prepared a detailed submission to the issues paper, which is available to download here.

Click here to read our media release on the report.

Ongoing campaign to protect the Renewable Energy Target

In parallel to the reports and submissions detailed above, the Clean Energy Council is also conducting an ongoing campaign to raise awareness about the Renewable Energy and ensure the benefits are fully understood both in Canberra and throughout the broader community.

As part of this campaign, letters and fact sheets have been sent to Australian MPs explaining some details of the policy in greater detail, and highlighting the economic and community benefits of the policy.

The first of these fact sheets was on power prices, including a breakdown of what makes up the typical Australian energy bill and explaining peak demand. Click here to download the fact sheet.

The second in the series was on wind energy and outlined the economic and community benefits of wind farms - like the $4.25 billion of investment and 1700 new jobs that have been generated by the industry to date in Australia. Click here to download the fact sheet.