{"id":42144,"date":"2020-08-13T17:07:36","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T06:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=42144"},"modified":"2020-08-13T17:07:36","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T06:37:36","slug":"rattenbury-renewables-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/rattenbury-renewables-government\/","title":{"rendered":"Shane Rattenbury: The Federal Government Is Renewable Energy\u2019s Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Shane<\/p>\n

State energy ministers can rightly claim that they have acted well in advance of the Federal Government. But there remain worrying divisions between the states that could turn into faultlines.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s Smart Energy Council Energy Ministers\u2019 Summit (archived here<\/a>) provided plenty of scope for unity, but agreement wasn\u2019t quite as solid as it could be.<\/p>\n

(Caveat: there\u2019s a reason relatively few voices dominate this story. Only three ministers were on hand for the Q&A session following their prepared statements. NSW and Victoria sent prepared videos by Matt Keane and Lily D\u2019Ambrosio respectively; and South Australia\u2019s minister spoke in person but couldn\u2019t hang around. Federal minister Angus Taylor didn\u2019t even send a prepared video.)<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a time when solidarity is vital. ACT Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability Shane Rattenbury highlighted the threats that confront renewable energy\u2019s immediate future in Australia: the Federal Government\u2019s actions, its support for gas, and a market that offers an apparent \u201clast window\u201d for gas investment.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what he had to say about gas:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does seem from the work that\u2019s coming through that there\u2019s a window, about the next eight years or so, where gas has the potential to be very profitable. We\u2019re very concerned about that – the way the government is constructing its post-COVID committee and the agenda around that, it does seem gas is going to get a real push.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOnce people have made the investments, they will fight like hell to protect that investment.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And that, Rattenbury said, puts gas interests in the position of becoming \u201canother vested interest\u201d with the power to drive policy in this country.<\/p>\n

‘They Don’t Want To Change’<\/h2>\n

On federal indifference to greening Australia\u2019s electricity supply, Rattenbury was asked what was keeping emission reductions from being at the centre of energy policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree-word answer: the Federal Government.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThey just don\u2019t want to change, they would not put this into the national electricity objectives.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nothing gets onto the national agenda if Angus Taylor doesn\u2019t want it there, he added.<\/p>\n

And there, at least, he had in-person support from Queensland\u2019s Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, Anthony Lynham.<\/p>\n

\u201cA barrier has been, as my colleagues have alluded to, the barrier has been the Federal Government. We\u2019d dearly love to have a Federal Government come with the states on our journey towards renewable energy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope we can convince the Federal Government: This is the goal of our entire nation. Come with us on the journey to renewable energy. Don\u2019t be a barrier to renewable energy investment.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As the cool kids say, Lynham \u201csaid the quiet bit out loud\u201d: while Malcolm Turnbull was leader, there was (admittedly protracted) negotiation over the NEG.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest regret is that I did come into a period where Malcolm Turnbull was just removed, and the Federal Government completely changed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt became very difficult to engage.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lynham conceded it\u2019s possible that the states might have got the Federal Government back on board, but:<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the messaging makes it difficult to see that they have a clear vision for the nation’s future when it comes to renewable energy.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While touting his own state\u2019s success in achieving 100% renewable energy, and its plan supported by the Marinus Link cable to the mainland, Tasmania\u2019s Guy Barnett mounted a defence of Angus Taylor, saying the Federal Government was showing leadership through support for such activities.<\/p>\n

While the state ministers might have run way ahead of the Federal Government in terms of renewables in both policy and deployment, it\u2019s not hard to spot the party lines splits – with the exception of Matt Keane<\/a>, Liberal states are the most forgiving of the Federal Government (and Keane is, after all, without the burden of covering mining like his Queensland, WA and SA peers are – so defending his state\u2019s support for unconventional gas is someone else\u2019s problem).<\/p>\n

Gas And Hydrogen<\/h2>\n

Everybody agreed with Rattenbury and Lynham that renewables have to displace gas if Australia is meet its fair share of global emissions reduction – but Western Australia\u2019s Minister for Mines and Petroleum; Energy; Industrial Relations Bill Johnston (I suppose that\u2019s a legitimate use of semicolons) made it clear that whatever happens onshore, gas export is sacrosanct.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have discussions about global energy flow, it has to be done from the point of view of emerging countries\u2019 rights to make their own decisions\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMost gas that\u2019s produced in WA is exported,\u201d he said, because \u201cthere\u2019s a customer that wants that gas.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The gas will always be produced somewhere until there\u2019s no more demand, he stated.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s hope the move towards hydrogen works as well as its advocates (from Chief Scientist Alan Finkel<\/a> down) believe it will, because since hydrogen is exportable, WA will support that development.<\/p>\n

To be fair, nearly everybody wants in on the hydrogen hustle: Johnston, Queensland\u2019s Lynham, South Australia\u2019s Dan van Holst Pellakaan, and Tasmania\u2019s Guy Barnett all agree that the state they represent has the chance to lead the country in gas production!<\/p>\n

Still, having enough interest for competition has to be a good sign in what\u2019s so often a dismal political landscape.<\/p>\n

Rattenbury said the ACT would be in the lead as a consumer, were it not for the COVID-19 crisis: its hydrogen-powered buses are with Hyundai in Sydney, but the international experts who were going to come from America to help get the fuelling station built couldn\u2019t travel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

State energy ministers can rightly claim that they have acted well in advance of the Federal Government. But there remain worrying divisions between the states that could turn into faultlines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":42222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-policy","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nShane Rattenbury: Federal Government Is Renewable Energy's Problem<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ACT Minister Shane Rattenbury highlighted the threats confronting renewable energy\u2019s immediate future in Australia: the Federal 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The Energy Security Board (ESB) was established nearly 5 years ago to coordinate implementation of recommendations from the Independent Review into the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ESB - capacity market mechanism design","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/esb-capacity-market.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/esb-capacity-market.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/esb-capacity-market.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/esb-capacity-market.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/esb-capacity-market.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":85331,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/australia-cer-roadmap-mb2968\/","url_meta":{"origin":42144,"position":1},"title":"Australia’s Consumer Energy Resources Roadmap Unveiled","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"July 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A meeting of federal and state energy ministers in Melbourne last week resulted in release of the National Consumer Energy Resources Roadmap. So, what's it about? Consumer Energy Resources (CER) incorporate devices that generate or store electricity; such as solar panels and home batteries. CER also includes flexible loads that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"National Consumer Energy Resources Roadmap","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/australia-cer-roadmap.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/australia-cer-roadmap.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/australia-cer-roadmap.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/australia-cer-roadmap.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/australia-cer-roadmap.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23116,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/reject-national-energy-guarantee-mb0684\/","url_meta":{"origin":42144,"position":2},"title":"Smart Energy Council Urges Australians To Apply Pressure On The NEG","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"July 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Smart Energy Council states the National Energy Guarantee is \"junk policy\" and is calling on Australians to email state energy ministers telling them to stop it in its current form. While the basis of the NEG is pretty simple - a reliability guarantee, an emissions guarantee and affordable electricity\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"National Energy Guarantee","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/national-energy-guarantee.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/national-energy-guarantee.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/national-energy-guarantee.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/national-energy-guarantee.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36660,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/matt-kean-awareness-mb1375\/","url_meta":{"origin":42144,"position":3},"title":"Celebrating Matt Kean Awareness Day","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"January 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are some quick notes members of the Morrison Ministry may find handy in case they are ever asked who Matt Kean is. It appears the information and special day is necessary based on an interview by ABC AM's Sabra Lane with Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday morning. When asked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Minister Matt Kean","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/matt-kean-renewables.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/matt-kean-renewables.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/matt-kean-renewables.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/matt-kean-renewables.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/matt-kean-renewables.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35203,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/coag-energy-council-mb1303\/","url_meta":{"origin":42144,"position":4},"title":"What Happened At The 22nd COAG Energy Council Meeting","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"November 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Energy Ministers met in Perth on Friday for the first COAG Energy Council meeting in more than 11 months. Here's some of what happened. First up, it won't be quite so long between COAG Energy Council drinks next time around - another meeting has been scheduled for March next year.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"22nd COAG Energy Council Meeting","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/coag-energy-council.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/coag-energy-council.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/coag-energy-council.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/coag-energy-council.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/coag-energy-council.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20926,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/national-energy-guarantee-mb0555\/","url_meta":{"origin":42144,"position":5},"title":"National Energy Guarantee (NEG) – Where’s It At?","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"April 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"While perhaps not as exciting as the latest solar panel or battery technology, the evolution of the National Energy Guarantee is something worth keeping tabs on. The 16th COAG Energy Council Ministerial Meeting was held on Friday, the focus of which was the Federal Government's NEG. The controversial plan, according\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"National Energy Guarantee","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/national-energy-guarantee.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/national-energy-guarantee.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/national-energy-guarantee.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/national-energy-guarantee.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42144"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42234,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42144\/revisions\/42234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}