Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says his Government has no plans to build a new coal-fired power station, and he wants to resolve a fractious debate over a clean energy target (CET) by the end of the year.
After spending a day touring the Snowy Hydro Scheme, Mr Turnbull on Monday backed away from an investment that could appease some in his party room hesitant to support a clean energy target.
The Coalition has accepted 49 of 50 recommendations from Dr Alan Finkel's report on the Australian energy market, leaving the contentious CET for more debate.
Some Coalition MPs including Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, Craig Kelly and former prime minister Tony Abbott want the target to allow for more coal power plants.
The Prime Minister was not drawn on exactly where the CET should cut in — but told ABC's 7.30 program the Government had "no plans" to build or fund new coal-fired power stations.
"We are already taking strong steps on Snowy Hydro which is a Government owned energy company," Mr Turnbull said.
"It is a vitally important national project — it's a vitally important national infrastructure.
"We've certainly funded to a large degree a lot of green energy.
"It's about doing stuff outside the box."
The Federal Government opened the $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund to coal power projects earlier this year.
Mr Turnbull said the Government was considering the CET very carefully, but stressed there was more work needed to ensure reliable baseload power.
"The critical thing to remember is that if you bring in intermittent renewables like wind and solar, obviously wind doesn't blow all the time, sun doesn't shine all the time," Mr Turnbull said.
"If you bring them in and replace baseload power that generates all the time, you run the risk of ending up with inadequate baseload power, massive spikes in energy prices and huge reliance on gas."
