Malcolm Turnbull's new Environment and Energy Minister, Josh Frydenberg, has welcomed a declining role for coal in Australia's future energy mix, talked up reliable green energy, and locked in the current 23.5 per cent renewable energy target by 2020, in a marked change from the avowedly pro-coal rhetoric of the Abbott government.
And he has stated that recent price spikes in South Australia – where energies such as wind and solar power make up 40 per cent plus of supply, and Tasmania where the figure is above to 90 per cent - were not solely the fault of high renewable energy dependencies but to a "complex of factors" including the failure of other energy distribution infrastructure such as Basslink, as well as the effects of drought, a cold snap, and high gas prices arising from inadequate supplies and suppliers.
This, he said, could be addressed in part by lifting "blanket moratoria" on new gas extraction as applied currently in Victoria and "parts of" New South Wales, and through technological advances in battery storage, which were coming onstream.
"Now people have pointed the finger at the increased emphasis on renewables as the reason for what's happened in South Australia, it's a lot more complex than that," he said nominating the upgrade of the Heywood interconnecter as a significant factor.
He said the "intermittency" of renewable energy had been a factor in price peaks but not necessarily the main one, as many fossil fuel energy advocates had concluded, although these events would necessitate some deep policy assessment.
Mr Frydenberg has also moved to burnish his own green credentials by rejecting criticism of his dual portfolio responsibilities, which he defended as, "two sides of the same coin", while reinforcing the message that he has never personally doubted the science of anthropogenic climate change, nor that the economy is transitioning away from coal.
"It's been speculated for many years that energy policy and climate change policy are two sides of the same coin, and as a result, policy thinking should be better aligned and coordinated," he said.
"There's massive changes taking place," he said.
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| Incoming Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has flagged a marked change in direction away from fossil fuels. Photo: Philip Gostelow |
Newly ensconced in his Parliament House ministerial office ahead of Thursday's first full cabinet meeting since the post-election reshuffle, Mr Frydenberg told Fairfax Media it was obvious that the economy was in transition from a high-carbon output to a low one, which was "no bad thing".
Critical to this is investment certainty, such as the retention of the national renewable energy target.
"With our RET, which is 23.5 per cent by 2020, that's set in stone, I want to make that very clear, the RET is set in stone and the goal must be affordable, accessible, and reliable energy supply as we transition to a lower-emissions future, that is what I see as my template for action," he said.
"One of the big swing factors in Australia's ability to reduce its carbon footprint is going to be technology and while renewables now does introduce elements of intermittent supply at certain levels, the improvements in battery storage give us great confidence in the future, that renewables, which should be taken up in greater and greater amounts, can provide a reliable steady source of energy supply".
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