The media frequently criticises coal generation subsidies while overlooking the significantly larger subsidies for renewable energy.
Some of Australia’s leading fund managers and economists are warning that two major federal financing programs for renewable energy—the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) and the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF)—risk becoming “slush funds” unless the government provides far greater transparency about how taxpayer money is being allocated and what returns are being generated.
Neither the CIS nor the NRF discloses:
- the cost of individual renewable projects
- the level of subsidies provided
- expected or actual returns to taxpayers.
