The Australian Government’s approach towards renewable energy has been a major factor in Australia slipping in Ernst & Young’s (EY) latest renewable energy rankings.
According to the latest Renewable energy country attractiveness index (RECAI), Australia has dropped two places to eighth position. The nation’s highest ranking was no.4.
“Government measures to scrap carbon pricing and clean energy funding are derailing the country’s progress to create an economically viable renewables market,” states the report.
“September’s Liberal/National Party Coalition election victory prompted a dramatic policy U-turn, with proposed legislation to abolish carbon pricing and the US$9b Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and increasing speculation over the scaling back of the national Renewable Energy Target. Australia’s attractiveness therefore remains in limbo.”
However, it also notes elsewhere in the report:
“Troubled markets such as Spain and Australia could see resurgence in project activity as solar and wind applications become economically viable without subsidization.”
Adjustments to the technology weightings that better reflect the increasing impact of solar power have created significant movement in the latest index. The top 10 countries are as follows – figures in brackets show previous rankings:
1. USA (1)
2. China (2)
3. Germany (3)
4. Japan (5)
5. UK (4)
6. Canada (8)
7. India (9)
8. Australia (6)
9. France (7)
10.South Korea (10)
Looking ahead, EY says with renewable energy now a truly global market; stakeholders must also think globally. It also believes continuous innovation in generation technologies and supporting infrastructure will drive cost efficiencies and provide significant opportunities in all markets.
While financing of renewable energy project is no longer the exclusive realm of banks and utilities and there are significant amounts of capital to be accessed, “creative solutions and new conduits must be identified to open up the finance markets once again.”
Established in 2003, the quarterly RECAI ranks 40 countries on the attractiveness of their renewable energy investment and deployment opportunities.
The latest RECAI can be downloaded here.
