11:03 - 09 Apr 2015

Vestas urges Australian parliament to support Clean Energy Council's compromise proposal on Renewable Energy Target

Australia now one step away from a return to bipartisan renewable energy policy.

After more than a year of uncertainty, the Australian Government can act quickly to secure jobs and investment in rural and regional Australia by accepting the Renewable Energy Target (RET) compromise proposed by the Clean Energy Council (CEC) to break the current political deadlock.

Investment in large-scale renewable energy in Australia fell by 88 percent in 2014, with companies in the sector shedding hundreds of jobs while dozens of projects remain stalled.

Vestas believes the CEC proposal of a 33,500 gigawatt hour target in 2020 represents a reasonable and necessary compromise to unlock investment and protect jobs in an industry sector that has been badly damaged by political risk.

The Australian Government's own review of the RET demonstrated that cutting the existing target is counterproductive and could cause power prices to rise in the medium- to long-term, exposing Australian families and businesses to rising energy prices.

"Vestas has been the leader in the Australian wind energy industry for many years, and despite some tough times, we continue to believe the Australian market has great potential", says Danny Nielsen, Managing Director of Vestas Australia. "But political uncertainty has stopped Australia reaching that potential and this is now threatening Australia's competitiveness as the rest of the world moves ahead with renewables. Bipartisan political support must be urgently restored to create the long-term business certainty required to protect jobs and allow major renewable energy investments to proceed".

For more information, please contact:
Danny Nielsen
Managing Director, Vestas Australia
Tel: +61 3 8698 7300
Mail: trmal@vestas.com

About Vestas
Every single day, Vestas wind turbines deliver clean energy that supports the global fight against climate change. Wind power from Vestas' more than 53,700 wind turbines currently reduces carbon emissions by over 60 million tons of CO2 every year, while at the same time building energy security and independence.

Vestas has delivered wind energy in 73 countries, providing jobs for around 19,700 passionate people at our service and project sites, research facilities, factories and offices all over the world. With 52 percent more megawatts installed than anyone else in the industry and more than 66 gigawatts of cumulative installed capacity worldwide, Vestas is the world leader in wind energy.

In Australia, Vestas installed the first wind turbine in 1993, and has installed around 50 percent of all wind turbines since then.

We invite you to learn more about Vestas by visiting our website at www.vestas.com and following us on our social media channels:

Download the press release (PDF) here

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