Slashed Australian Renewable Energy Target = $6 Billion Slashed From Investment
Nice job, Prime Minister Chucklenuts!
Six billion dollars in investment in wind and solar power will be lost as a result of a compromise deal on the renewable energy target, energy market analysts say. Bloomberg New Energy Finance says investment in Australian projects will fall from an expected $20.6 billion by 2020 to $14.7 billion after the Abbott government and Labor reached a deal to reduce the target.
Monday's agreement, which came after more than 12 months of political gridlock, will slash the original large-scale target of 41,000 gigawatt hours of annual renewable energy production by 2020 to 33,000 gigawatt hours.
Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton said the expected drop in projects is "what we've had to accept in order to resolve this situation". "The industry was entirely frozen. There was no new investment if the situation continued," he said.
The government prompted the stalemate when it launched a review of the bipartisan scheme last year, causing the sector a loss of $2 billion as wind and solar projects stalled under a cloud of political uncertainty.
EDIT
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/new-renewable-energy-target-will-mean-6-billion-cut-to-investment-analysts-20150518-gh4ffd.html