A new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance suggests that scrapping or winding back Australia’s Renewable Energy Target would simply result in increased utility bills, and a multi-billion dollar windfall to existing generators.
The BNEF study echoes similar findings in suggesting that scrapping or reducing the renewable target would favour incumbent power companies over consumers.
If the RET is cut, says BNEF, existing electricity generators would receive an extra $11.5 billion in revenue between 2015 and 2020, and a massive total of $70.2 billion between 2015 and 2030.
If the target is reduced, existing generators would receive an extra $6.1 billion between 2015 and 2020, and $40.3 billion between 2015-30.
BNEF says most of this extra revenue would flow to coal-fired power stations.
This helps to explain why many of Australia’s largest power companies are now pushing for a reduction in the target,” said Kobad Bhavnagri, BNEF’s head in Australia.
“Cutting or reducing the Renewable Energy Target is likely to result in less competition among fossil-fuel power generators and strong future increases in the price of electricity,
This would translate into increase power bills of $142 a year by 2030, and the loss of more than 11,000 jobs. It says solar PV on household rooftops would remain the only viable clean energy industry, because of its ability to avoid utility costs.
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