Carnegie’s MD Asks for Clear Renewable Energy Target

Michael Ottaviano, Managing Director of Carnegie Wave Energy, has urged Australian politicians to set up a clear policy when it comes to renewable energy target (RET). 

Australia has a target set at 20% of renewables in its energy mix by 2020. However, it looks like now that 20% would amount to much more in terms of produced power, since the country’s electricity demand has been declining over the past five years.

In line with the currently set goals, some 41,000 GW/h of renewable power should be produced by 2020, so both the Government and industry are trying to get the target to a “real 20 per cent” of about 27,000 GW/h, The West Australian writes.

Ottaviano has suggested a compromise on this matter and stressed the importance of creating policy certainty, which would set a good environment for investment.

“There is probably a very rational case to say that the… [RET] should be adjusted to take into account that shortfall in forecast consumption but to ratchet it right back to this ‘real 20 per cent’ forecast is simply too dramatic and too much of a change,” The West Australian quotes Ottaviano as saying.

Carnegie wave energy officially opened its opened its Perth Wave Energy Project last month. The company is also working on next generation CETO 6 technology that will have four times the capacity of their CETO 5 units.

Offshore WIND Staff; Image: Carnegie Wave Energy (Illustration)