Green groups have attacked Origin Energy after the country’s largest electricity retailer suggested the federal government’s renewable energy target (RET) would drive up power bills unnecessarily.
The RET is meant to ensure 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020, but softer demand and the popularity of rooftop solar panels means the 20 per cent target may be exceeded.
Origin managing director Grant King has said if renewables make up 25 or 30 per cent of the energy mix by the end of the decade “it will mean more costs”.
The Australian Greens argue Origin is trying to undermine the RET because it mistakenly staked its future on fossil fuels and is threatened by the rise of renewables.
“We certainly don’t expect the Liberal or Labor parties would cave in to the pressure from the fossil fuel lobby to try and unpick and reduce the target that has been set for 2020,” Greens Leader Christine Milne told reporters in Hobart.
The Greens want Australia to move to 100 per cent renewables as quickly as possible, which means going “way beyond” 20 per cent by 2020.
“We’d be looking for more than 50 per cent by 2030,” Senator Milne said.
The Australian Conservation Foundation also wants to see the target increased.
“If we follow Origin’s advice and lower the target, Australia could miss out on the equivalent of eight large-scale solar plants that will help provide us with clean, renewable energy,” spokeswoman Claire Maries said in a statement.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard insists the RET is an important part of Labor’s plan to create a clean energy future - alongside pricing pollution - but noted the target was going to be reviewed.
“We always committed to reviewing the renewable energy target, and that will be undertaken by the Climate Change Authority,” she told reporters in Ipswich.
The authority has been charged with reviewing the RET by the end of 2012 and every two years after that.
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said the review would “examine ways to improve its efficiency and effectiveness”.
Origin on Tuesday said it continued to support the renewable energy target and was the largest purchaser of wind power in the country.
But spokesman Phil Craig questioned the need for a renewable mix significantly greater than the 20 per cent originally envisaged.
“As a retailer to 4.5 million Australian households and businesses, we are very conscious of the cost impact of these schemes,” Mr Craig told AAP.
“We were going for the 20 per cent target, (but) it turns out we may well end up at 27 per cent and every extra percentage point is extra cost.”
