“We have now got to a saturation point in regional Australia from these renewable projects of industrial scale,” Littleproud said.
“There is a case to constrain future renewables to simply solar panels on rooftops where the population is concentrated.”
The Nationals’ zero tolerance for renewables poses a challenge for the Liberals,with division between the Coalition partners a stumbling block at the 2022 election,where voters backed the Albanese government’s more ambitious climate policies.
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The government has committed to nearly double the volume of renewable energy in the grid to 82 per cent by 2030,a key measure of its legally binding climate target to cut emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
It has pledged billions of dollars to spur a massive renewable energy rollout under its Capacity Investment Scheme,which will support private companies building wind and solar farms,as well as the thousands of kilometres of transmission lines to bring electricity to population centres.
Littleproud wants the government to convene a national energy summit to develop new policies,and the Coalition is calling for discussion on the ban on nuclear energy,which they argue should be developed to replace ageing coal-fired power stations.