Farmer cries hot air on RET

The RET legislates that at least 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity is to be produced by renewable sources by 2020.

It also sets out legislated objectives to stimulate electricity generation from renewable sources - like wind farms - to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

However, a recent review recommended reducing the 2020 goal, leading the Coalition into discussions with crossbench Senators and the Labor Party. Talks have stalled due to differences over the agreed target.

Ongoing uncertainty on the RET has prompted a stream of campaigning from different stakeholders, including Mr Prell, who visited Canberra this week to urge all politicians to reinstate bipartisan support.

“The question I would ask the politicians is: what is the plan after 2020?” he said.

“We need a compromise to get to a position that everybody agrees on for 2020, but then we need to start opening the door, looking into the future and working out where we want to go into the future in 2030, 2040, 2050.”

Mr Prell has also appeared in a new television commercial with online activist group GetUp, featuring members of his community near Goulburn, NSW, expressing support for the RET and promoting its benefits.

He also warns that if the government gets its way and cuts the RET, investment in regional Australia would “disappear overnight” and move offshore.

Speaking to media at Parliament House, Mr Prell said his local MP Mr Taylor needed to start representing his constituents’ views on the RET, rather than his personal political ideology and agenda.

He said for the past 15 years he’d campaigned on the RET, which underpinned wind farming investments that diversify and drought-proof farm incomes.

But he said a significant weakening of the RET would mean the Spanish company he’s dealing with, to build a wind farm on his property, would probably leave Australia and move to China “which is where all the action is”.

“It means the wind farm won’t be built on my farm and probably means I’d have to sell my farm because the wind farm is providing surety and income that underpins my agricultural operation,” he said.

Mr Taylor told Fairfax Media he was hugely sympathetic to farmers impacted by drought but wind farms are, “in no way a broad solution”.

“If anything - and I see this in many instances in my electorate - they are causing deep divisions in local communities,” he said.

“Only a few host landowners receive any significant financial benefit from wind farms.

“Construction jobs are short-term and do not represent long-term investment in our regions.”

Mr Taylor said he remained a strong supporter of renewable energy but not of the heavily subsidised wind industry.

“Each turbine will cost taxpayers $450,000 in subsidies every year and I know we can achieve emissions reduction targets without that kind of massive expense,” he said.

“It’s very clear to me what the right answer is.”

Mr Taylor said the RET review panel had stated “quite clearly” wind farms were an expensive method of reducing carbon emissions and the 2020 target is “unreachable”.

He said the government’s position was that the RET can’t be left where it is and must be reduced, due to concerns about escalating electricity costs.

“The cost of leaving the RET where it is is too high and infrastructure won’t get built,” he said.

“We can do this a lot cheaper but it takes time for people to get their heads around the issue.”

Mr Prell said talks on the RET had stalled because the government was being “intransigent”.

“Apparently the government are willing to reopen those talks and negotiate,” he said.

“If a compromise can be reached which sustains the construction of wind farms and solar farms then that’s a good outcome.

“If it’s a compromise that obviously means it’s going to be a delay in the construction of wind farms and solar farms that’s not a good outcome.

“The important thing about the RET is there’s not one red cent of government money involved.

“The government keeps talking about the budgetary crisis we’re in, they talk about the desperate need for infrastructure in Australia – but there’s no plan to replace any of the ageing infrastructure that’s generating electricity at the moment or the coal fired plants.”

Mr Prell said he featured in the GetUp advert but he was the messenger for “hundreds of farmers” who want to host wind farms and solar farms, to help underpin agricultural production and drought proof their farms.

He said Canberra’s response to the RET has been “totally at odds” with the Australian community’s response.

“Overwhelmingly I think about 80 per cent of Australians are in favour of renewable energy and that’s even higher in regional Australia,” he said.

“By default, most of the renewable energy infrastructure will be in regional Australia, either wind on the tablelands or solar out in the hot country but the politicians don’t seem to get that and I’m not sure why.”

Mr Prell said during the depths of a recent drought his family was on the verge of having to sell-up the 100-year operation but were approached to host a wind farm which provided welcome relief.

“If the government changes the current bipartisan renewable energy policies, then this hope will evaporate,” he said.

“Wind farms bring desperately needed investment to individual farmers and to rural communities.

“We can’t let the government get their way – otherwise we are going to starve local communities of this critical investment opportunity.

“Passive, external income helps farmers drought proof their land so that future dry times won’t be as devastating.”