Nationals leader David Littleproud says Coalition will find energy alternatives ‘so we don’t have to pursue large-scale renewables’

Nationals leader David Littleproud declares a Coalition government will look at alternative energy sources so it doesn’t have to pursue large-scale renewables.

Nationals leader David Littleproud meets with locals to discuss the planned offshore wind zone on the NSW south coast on Monday. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Nationals leader David Littleproud has said a Coalition government will look at alternative energy sources so it doesn’t have to pursue large-scale renewables such as wind and solar, after suggesting he would axe an offshore wind industry if elected.

Amid a pre-election brawl over climate and energy ­policy, Mr Littleproud said the Coalition would send “strong investment signals” that Australia didn’t need large-scale industrial wind farms onshore or offshore or other big renewable projects.

Mr Littleproud also indicated to The Australian that he was opposed to large-scale solar farms, saying: “We’d like to look for whatever option we can so we don’t have to pursue large-scale renew­ables full stop.

“We’re (in regional Australia) the ones being asked to bear the brunt of this,” the Nationals leader said. “That does have an impact on all of us in terms of our food security and food prices.

“All the low-hanging fruit for large-scale renewables has been done, we’ve now got to go out beyond that. That’s where we’re hitting all these pressure points in regional Australia, that’s where they’re angry.”

Mr Littleproud tried to walk back his comments on scrapping an offshore wind industry, saying he was referring only to axing Labor’s newly declared and amended offshore wind zone off the Illawarra, 20km from the coast.

He pointed out an offshore wind area off Gippsland didn’t have the same community anger and was already much further advanced than the Illawarra project.

The Coalition would deliver a “slow transition” from coal-fired power plants to nuclear, backed up by gas and carbon capture and storage, and include renewables in the energy mix.

Earlier on Monday, Mr Littleproud contradicted comments he and some of his ­frontbench colleagues had made in the past, as well as Coalition legislation that allowed the development of an offshore electricity sector, by saying it remained his position he would axe an offshore wind generation industry if elected to government.

“Yes, it is. We don’t need to go down an all-renewables approach,” Mr Littleproud told ABC radio.

“We’ve signed up to net zero by 2050 but we don’t need a linear pathway to achieve that.

“And unfortunately we’re trying to do that at the moment with this government, which is hurting everybody.

“We want renewables in the right place. And I strongly believe the best environment for renew­ables is an environment it can’t ­destroy.

“That’s rooftops, particularly where the concentration of ­population and power is required.

“That also alleviates the need for 28,000km of transmission lines. We should have slow transition from some of our coal-fired power stations to nuclear power plants that are zero emissions, and firm that up with gas and carbon capture storage, which is zero emissions as well.”

The Clean Energy Council seized on Mr Littleproud’s anti- large-scale renewables comments, with chief executive Kane Thornton saying he was certain the Illawarra community would prefer wind turbines 20km offshore compared with a nuclear reactor on their doorstep.

“It is disappointing that the Coalition has chosen to oppose sensible policy developments such as offshore wind and instead focus on stoking division in regional communities,” Mr Thornton said.

“This will undermine investor confidence in infrastructure projects right across Australia.

“The success of Australia’s clean energy transition and that of communities such as the Illawarra depends on unleashing the immense opportunities and benefits of offshore wind.

“Our industry will continue to work closely with the government to listen, understand and address genuine local concerns about new projects in good faith, with the goal of empowering these communities as the engine room powering Australia’s ­future.”

The Australian asked opposition climate change and energy spokesman Ted O’Brien  whether a Coalition government would scrap offshore wind and signal to investors they didn’t want large-scale wind farms, but didn’t receive a response by deadline.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said it was the former Coalition government’s Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act that allowed him to declare the offshore wind zone in the Illawarra before inviting proposals and pursuing environmental approvals.

“I saw Mr Littleproud on the weekend say ‘Oh, there’s not even any environmental approvals yet’,” Mr Bowen told ABC radio.

“Well, mate, it was your act which said you declare the zone first and then you invite proposals and then they get environmental approvals. That’s the way the process works.

“You can’t build anything until you have a zone declared. Now you have the zone declared, the process can begin, they can put in their feasibility licence appli­cations, then their commercial licence applications and they will separately have to go to through environmental approvals.

“The previous government put this regime in place.

“We are acting under that regime, but it is a careful regime which has several stages of approvals. There’s not going to be any wind turbines next week, next month or next year. We have a long way to go to make sure we get this right.”

Mr Littleproud said locals could decide at the next election whether they wanted the Illa­warra offshore wind zone stopped by voting for the Coalition.

Peter Dutton on Sunday said he wanted to understand what the government was proposing but, while he accused Mr Bowen of “botching” community consultation on the offshore wind zone, did not say a future Coalition government would axe the project.

The Opposition Leader kicked off the latest iteration of the climate wars by vowing more than a week ago to oppose Labor’s legislated 2030 emissions reduction target of 43 per cent.