Energy & Science

The $30 Billion Fight to Fuel Australia’s Post-Covid Economy

  • Cheap renewables can power industry revival, lobby group says
  • Government is promoting a ‘gas-fired’ recovery from Covid-19
Wind turbines at Kennedy Energy Park in Queensland.
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Never let a crisis go to waste -- Australia’s clean energy industry is championing former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s catchphrase to push for a renewable-powered economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

But their plan to fast-track a pipeline of solar and wind projects in the sun-kissed nation and inject as much as A$50 billion ($32 billion) into the economy faces a formidable opponent in a government-backed fossil fuel industry, which counters that there’s at least that much in natural gas expansion projects awaiting the green light.