The Abbott government initially wanted to reduce the target to 26,000 gigawatt hours
The bipartisan deal has set the RET at 33,000 gigawatts, lower than the 41,000 gigawatts Labor wanted, exempted trade-exposed industries such as aluminium smelting from the target and called for annual reports from the Clean Energy Regulator on the impact of the scheme on electricity prices and progress towards the target.
The deal had been consistently stymied by the federal government’s insistence that the target be reviewed every two years, a move staunchly opposed by Labor with Shadow Environment Minister Mark Butler calling it “a reckless idea” that would smash investor confidence in the renewable energy sector.
Despite the RET being lowered, Environment Minister Greg Hunt maintains that the original aim of ensuring that 20 per cent of Australia’s energy came from renewables by 2020 will be met and possibly exceeded. He said the target was effectively 23.5 per cent under the new agreement.
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