Turnbull government is working on a major redesign of the clean energy target

The Turnbull government is working on a major redesign of the clean energy target that will likely fall short of the plan for almost half of Australia's electricity to be generated by renewables by 2030.

Clean energy target: Chief Scientist Alan Finkel. 

Internal discussions have commenced about a revised target that would set a higher emissions baseline than the 0.6 tonnes of carbon per megawatt hour suggested by the Finkel review. The revised scheme would allow high-efficency, low-emission coal-fired power plants that emit about 0.7 tonnes of carbon to receive partial certificates, or credits.

Political hard-heads in the Coalition believe that if the government were to adopt the 42 per cent target proposed by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, which is not far short of Labor's 50 per cent target, the government will not be able to win a fight that frames the opposition as the party of higher power prices at the next election.

As one MP put it, "if we were going to do Finkel's CET, it would be done already”.

Read James Massola’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Turnbull government is working on a major redesign of the clean energy target.”

New coal plants have a role in Australia's energy future, Josh Frydenberg says

New high-efficiency low-emission (HELE) coal-fired power plants have a role in the energy mix and the government is prepared to intervene in the market, Josh Frydenberg has said.

Energy minister Josh Frydenberg has lamented the
fact that no coal stations have been built since
 2007 and blamed the closure of older plants
for part of the rise in electricity prices. 

The energy and environment minister told Sky News on Sunday that new coal plants “need to be considered” alongside other sources of baseload power, and the government could intervene if the market failed to deliver the “best possible outcomes” in the electricity market.

The comments leave open the possibility of government intervention in favour of coal, despite Frydenberg saying in July that the government would only support new coal power plants “if the market supports that”.

Read Paul Karp’s story on The Guardian - “New coal plants have a role in Australia's energy future, Josh Frydenberg says.”

(Please, Mr Frydenberg, let us see the numbers that illustrate why and how these so-called “high-efficiency low-emission (HELE) coal-fired power plants” have a role in Australia’s future energy mix - Robert McLean)