The federal government needs to take a hard line on its flagship energy support scheme, focusing only on shovel-ready projects and scrutinising the ones that can’t move ahead, says Neoen Australia CEO Jean-Christophe Cheylus.
Cheylus says projects that can start being built within a year should be the only ones eligible for the few remaining rounds of the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) in order to attempt to meet the 2030 renewable energy target of 82 per cent.
“We need to change the [CIS] selection criteria so that the projects that are awarded are the ones that are going to be built, or maximise the chance that they are going to complete,” he said at the Australia Energy Week last week.
“When the projects are very advanced, when they have [a development application], when they know their cost, they are in advanced discussions with their suppliers, they know everything, so that when they are awarded, we know that they can do it.”
The CIS was supposed to be the Albanese government’s accelerant for the renewable energy sector, after years of Liberal policy and government changes stalled development and delayed the build out of new generation as coal plants approached retirement.
