Introduction
The Coalition Government supports the Renewable Energy Target
(RET), requiring 20% of electricity in 2020 to be
generated from renewable energy sources. The RET has been a key
stimulus for the development of renewable energy projects. It
should be noted however that whether this target is maintained may
be impacted on by a review of the RET, which the Coalition
Government has announced will be undertaken next year.
Outside of the RET, the outcome of the federal election has
given the Coalition Government a mandate to scrap the carbon
pricing mechanism and a number of ancillary government bodies, such
as the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (please see our related
update). These regimes were introduced by the previous Labor
Government to reduce carbon emissions by, amongst other things,
encouraging renewable energy development. Assuming that the
necessary legislation is passed by both houses of parliament, the
repeal of such mechanisms may – depending
