What do you think your key achievements have been in office so far as the Energy and Resources Minister?

We’ve had a pretty challenging time in the electricity sector with debates about a price on carbon, how to integrate a renewable energy target into the operation of what’s probably the most efficient energy market in the world, and the establishment of a national gas market.

Other pretty important things have been facilitating the movement of linesmen, the recognition of qualifications across state and territory boundaries – which is very important– and a crisis situation such as the bushfires in Victoria and more recently the floods and cyclone in Queensland where the movement of those linesmen was exceptionally important.

What are your key priorities for the rest of the term?

Obviously, what comes to the top of my mind is managing the pipeline of investment and how we make sure we deliver them on time and on budget. But also the ongoing work in terms of the national energy market– getting certainty back in the debate about a price on carbon; how then over time you facilitate what is going to be the outcome. Expansion of domestic use of gas, side-by-side with a growth in wind power because that is the mature renewable energy form.

I’m interested to see where we end up on the clean energy flagships, and the result of support for carbon capture and storage, solar, geothermal, biomass, ocean power. They’re the type of issues that occupy our office and my department.

Do you think the renewable energy target will be able to achieve a significant increase in renewable energy usage if it only applies to domestic electricity generation, and not consumption?

We can’t complicate the regulatory environment more than we already have. Our ambition is just to reduce red tape, not further complicate. We’ve got a Renewable Energy Target of 20 per cent. That means 20 per cent of our energy by 2020 is going to come from renewable sources. That is a subsidy to the sector of $20 billion. A price on carbon is effectively a further subsidy to the sector. The [renewable energy industry] should just be focusing on how they get the projects up, and frankly, there is plenty of investment in the pipeline.

Wind, and I might say solar photovoltaic (PV), is getting cheaper. Sometime later this year, I will receive a technical report about Solar Flagships and what we might do in terms of our consideration of solar PV and solar panels.

There are a whole range of research and development projects out there at the moment.The Australian Solar Institute is making progress working with tertiary institutions and industry, working with the geothermal industry – it’s a bit difficult at the moment for industry to get funding so they’re re-assessing their activities as to whether they should rationalise and merge in terms of company opportunities.

We’ve [also] got ocean power research and development projects. We’re trying to test all the technologies to help achieve the 20 per cent but also to try and diversify with the renewable energy outcome over time and not have all our eggs in the wind basket.

The wind system actually adds to the cost of delivering energy because of the issues of grid and the operation, plus you’ve got to have back-up.

The Greens Party, the Clean Energy Council and the Sustainable Energy Association of Australia are just a few of the Australian organisations with clean energy interests urging for a gross national feed-in-tariff. Why is there a reluctance to establish such a scheme in Australia?

We made a choice as a community – no double-dipping. We went for a Renewable Energy Target of 20 per cent, which guarantees market opportunities. I get a whole variety of demands for feed-in opportunities, be it solar, coal, gas, wind or whatever. We’re a market-driven Government.

States have put in a mix of feed-in tariffs despite our endeavours through Council of Australian Governments processes to get a common approach. I notice the states now complain about the cost of renewable energy and the impact on consumers – they should look at themselves in the mirror and their own feed-in tariff systems.

Renewable Energy Target – straight, clear cut, guaranteed market share, just do it. All [of] us consumers will bear the cost. That’s the end result.

How long do you think the clean energy industry will be waiting for certainty on a carbon price?

Well you’ve seen the government’s ambition; 1st of July 2012. You’ve seen the reaction of companies such as Origin, TRUenergy – they have clearly got options on the table that they can take to their boards for consideration once they know the investment parameters.

It’s going to be a pretty exciting period because we have to actually make investment decisions. Have a look at the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) report of last year; looking forward 5, 10, 15 years about where we’re going to need investment, focusing on Queensland, New South Wales, just in terms of the normal growth strategy with the retirement of older coal-fired power stations.

One way or another, pricing carbon – we’ve got to have the fight and resolve it. Industry needs an outcome one way or another.

Senator Nick Xenophon has said that gas is going to be punished the same way as coal as a result of the carbon price, even though gas is a lower emissions fuel. Where do you see the future of gas-fired generation under the current framework?

I am very firmly of the view that a price on carbon is going to create a huge growth opportunity for gas. It is the really only form of alternative clean energy in Australia at the moment – it’s reliable and it’s lower emitting than coal.

The other growth area resulting from a price on carbon is effectively wind, but wind from my point of view as the national Energy Minister is an entirely different proposition because it lacks reliability. Gas is there to be brought forward with a market opportunity coming its way, if we resolve the debate on a price on carbon and get certainty for investment decisions. That’s the big ‘if’.

What are your thoughts on gas-fired distributed generation technologies like cogeneration and trigeneration?

Their capacity to grow in Australia will be dependent on market opportunities and commercial decisions. We as a government don’t seek to pick winners, but to create the framework for the market to sort out investment decisions. The only thing we’re doing is seeking to create a price on carbon side-by-side with a renewable energy target which creates a new framework for the development of our energy system in Australia. If you have a look at our clean energy strategy, support for innovation and research and development, this government is very supportive of clean energy.

We’re not seeking to pick winners, but things change. We’ve set up a framework for carbon capture and storage, we’ve tested solar thermal, solar PV, wind, etc. And over time the market will determine what is the commercially viable option. The only one we exclude is nuclear.