The Australian Greens have called for the establishment of a government-owned energy retailer, Power Australia, in order to bring down energy prices and drive emissions reduction 'by providing a guaranteed buyer for clean energy' to 'contract the next wave of renewable energy projects'.
Of course, you'd expect such a call from the Greens, but calls for investor certainty in the clean energy market have also been coming from industry, as the government struggles to develop a coherent, bipartisan energy policy (as has just happened in New Zealand).
In the wake of the recent ousting of Malcolm Turnbull over the emissions reduction components of the National Energy Guarantee (NEG), new Prime Minister Scott Morrison decided to decouple carbon emissions from government energy policy.
This has been roundly criticised by industry groups, with the Australian Energy Council, representing 21 major energy companies, stating that it 'means a continuation of the price instability and investment uncertainty we have been dealing with in this market for more than a decade'.
As Turnbull pointed out in the lead up to his resignation, 'ideology and idiocy' have been playing a significant role in national debates around energy policy in Australia for too long. A classic example of how this has muddied the waters around renewable energy can be found in the South Australian blackout of 2016.
In late September 2016, most of South Australia temporarily lost power after an extreme weather event (including two tornadoes in the north of the state) damaged critical energy infrastructure. Even as the crisis was unfolding, coalition politicians, including then-Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, attempted to blame the blackout on South Australia's commitment to renewable energy, despite having no evidence to support their claims.
Not only did the South Australian blackout have nothing to do with renewable energy, but recent events indicate that renewable energy is, in fact, highly resilient in the face of extreme weather events. In late August, lightning strikes across Australia created a 'power system emergency' that led to widespread power outages across New South Wales and Victoria.
"With Morrison's appointment of Angus Taylor — a renowned critic of renewable energy — as Australia's new Energy Minister, it's hard to see ideology being taken out of the equation any time soon."
In contrast, Queensland and South Australia's power was barely disrupted, reportedly due to their access to sufficient renewable energy supplies. In South Australia's case, this resilience was thanks to the Hornsdale Power Reserve, also known as