RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES – GOVERNMENT POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Limbo leads to turbine layoffs

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Original article by Joanna Heath, Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 24-Oct-14

Keppel Prince is to close its wind turbine division, which will result in 100 job losses. The retrenchments are the first to arise from the Australian Government’s review of the renewable energy target (RET). Keppel Prince’s Steve Garner says no orders for wind turbines have been received in 14 months, which would not have been the case had the RET be left unchanged. The sackings came one day after Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said the Government will pursue a close to 40 per cent drop in the RET in absolute terms

CORPORATES
KEPPEL PRINCE ENGINEERING PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, PACIFIC HYDRO LIMITED, INDUSTRY FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, IFM RENEWABLE ENERGY PTY LTD, ALCOA INCORPORATED – ASX AAI

‘Outbreak of commonsense’ may save smelter

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Original article by Chip Le Grand
The Australian – Page: 1 : 23-Oct-14

Aluminium producer Alcoa in early 2014 announced the closure of the Point Henry smelter operation in Geelong. This sparked concerns that its other facility, at Portland, would also be shut once an electricity supply deal ends in November 2016. However plant manager Peter Chellis has now welcomed an announcement by Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane that he wants to exempt the smelter from the renewable energy target. This is estimated to bring annual cost savings of about $A10m, and may help secure the jobs of 540 staff and 180 contractors

CORPORATES
ALCOA INCORPORATED – ASX AAI, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN ALUMINIUM COUNCIL LIMITED

Leave RET alone, urge fund managers

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Original article by Andrew Main
The Australian – Page: 19 : 30-Sep-14

One option recommended by business leader Dick Warburton in his review of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) for the Australian Government is to reduce it from 41,000 gigawatt hours by 2020 to between 17,000 and 25,000. However the original RET is being strongly favoured by the Investor Group on Climate Change that represents some $A1trn worth of superannuation fund accounts. The lobbying body, which is chaired by Catholic Super CEO Frank Pegan, has started a public awareness campaign on the issue

CORPORATES
INVESTOR GROUP ON CLIMATE CHANGE, CATHOLIC SUPERANNUATION AND RETIREMENT FUND, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. CLIMATE CHANGE AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Aluminium could win RET exemption

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 18-Sep-14

There is some support for exempting the aluminium industry from the Renewable Energy Target (RET). Australian Labor Party Leader Bill Shorten is sympathetic to the unique position of the industry. Miles George, the CEO of renewable energy company Infigen Energy, conceded that the aluminium industry is a special case. However, all parties have warned that undermining the RET would threaten investment and jobs in the renewable energy sector

CORPORATES
INFIGEN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX IFN, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD

Review signals overhaul of RET

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Original article by Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 29-Aug-14

A review deems the Renewable Energy Target (RET) to be a costly means of carbon abatement that undermines national productivity. The review panel’s recommendations offer Prime Minister Tony Abbott guidelines to greatly reduce subsidies for solar rooftop panels and wind farms. The renewable energy sector is upset by the review findings, whereas the Energy Supply Association of Australia says the RET risks making the overall energy market "uninvestable"

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN ALUMINIUM COUNCIL LIMITED, ENERGY SUPPLY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, CLEAN ENERGY COUNCIL LIMITED, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SOLAR COUNCIL LIMITED

Giant solar farm project killed off

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Original article by Bridie Smith, Lisa Cox, Peter Hannam
The Age – Page: 8 : 19-Aug-14

Silex Systems has dropped its $A420 million solar energy project. It had planned to build a 2,000-dish solar farm near Mildura in Victoria. Silex CEO Michael Goldsworthy said that the project would not proceed because of uncertainty about the national Renewable Energy Target and low wholesale power prices

CORPORATES
SILEX SYSTEMS LIMITED – ASX SLX, AUSTRALIAN SOLAR COUNCIL LIMITED, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Abbott’s plan to axe RET

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1/ & 4 : 18-Aug-14

The Australian Government is believed to planning to abolish the Renewable Energy Target (RET), and will get Dick Warburton to examine this option. Warburton’s review of the RET recommended that it be scaled back, but any such move would be opposed by the Palmer United Party, which does not want changes to the RET before the next federal election. Infigen Energy MD Miles George has expressed concern about the potential impact of any changes to the RET

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, PALMER UNITED PARTY, INFIGEN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX IFN, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, CLIMATE INSTITUTE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

GE urges certainty on RET

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Original article by Geoff Elliott
The Australian – Page: 17 & 23 : 17-Jul-14

Business leader Dick Warburton has been asked by the Australian Government to review the renewable energy target (RET), currently set at 20% of electricity in 2020 to come from sources such as wind and solar power. However ministers such as Treasurer Joe Hockey have already made unfavourable comments about the RET, and the industry is concerned. Some $A3.5bn worth of investment in renewable sources by global group GE may be in jeopardy according to vice-chair John Rice, unless clarity is offered soon

CORPORATES
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES), IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, ACCIONA SA, ACCIONA ENERGY OCEANIA PTY LTD, GE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

Wind farms ‘to yield job losses’

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 21-24 : 15-Jul-14

Jeff Dimery, CEO of gas and coal power generation plants operator Alinta Energy, has urged the Australian Government to lower the renewable energy target (RET). He argued that the wind farms being built across the nation with funding linked to the RET were outdated technology, and that a more useful area of investment would be batteries that mean households with solar roof panels can store the electricity they create. Dimery also forecast widespread redundancies at coal mines in Victoria and New South Wales under the RET. It is being reviewed for the Federal Government by business leader Dick Warburton

CORPORATES
ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Carbon tax set for scrap heap as Palmer finalises ETS details

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Original article by Lisa Cox, James Massola, Tom Arup
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 5 : 9-Jul-14

There was further discussion in the Australian Senate on 8 July 2014 of the Federal Government’s legislation to repeal the carbon tax, with a vote now expected by 9 July. While the Australian Labor Party and Australian Greens are opposed, Prime Minister Tony Abbott will be able to pass the bill with the help of the Palmer United Party. However, in return it will extract a pledge to force electricity companies to pass on the savings in full and show them on bills sent to consumers. The Climate Change Authority will also be retained. Meanwhile Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party senator Ricky Muir wants to stop the abolition of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency as well

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIAN MOTORING ENTHUSIAST PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. CLIMATE CHANGE AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY