Thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of energy projects are at risk if the Coalition is elected to power, the Clean Energy Council claims.
The Victorian Opposition’s policy on wind farms would be severely detrimental to the state’s renewable energy industry, it says, and up to $3 billion in projects lost to other states.
Also at risk are almost 4000 jobs that will be created over the next five years in the construction and operation of the projects.
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The council claims that by comparison, Labor’s policy will attract $9 billion in renewable energy investment to Victoria over the same period, with projects that will increase clean energy capacity by 3000 megawatts by 2016, the equivalent of powering 1.2 million homes.
The findings by the council are to be released today, and will put the Coalition at odds with the Greens, with whom it is still negotiating a preference deal.
A recent Newspoll study found that 93 per cent of all Victorians want more renewable energy.
Matthew Warren, chief executive of the Clean Energy Council, the regulatory body for the industry, said the organisation did not support any particular political party.
But it did campaign for policies that created the best environment for the development of clean energy, or against any party whose policy would restrict its growth.
“There’s no doubt that substantial wind farm investment and jobs will immediately leave Victoria if the Coalition’s current policies were adopted. This could effectively cripple the wind industry,” Mr Warren said.
