Australia, along with the U.S. and Canada, received plenty of public criticism during the negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol. They were portrayed as being hostile to the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and of energy conservation in general.

Australia is one of the world's major energy producers. It is a net energy exporter and coal is one of its largest export commodities.

Renewable energy is an essential part of Australia's low emissions energy mix and is important to Australia's energy security. It plays a strong role in reducing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions and helping Australia stay on track to meet its Kyoto target and beyond. Australian Government support for renewable energy assists industry development, reduces barriers to the national electricity market, and provides community access to renewable energy.

Prior to April 1, 2001 when the MRET scheme commenced operation, Australia had a renewable energy industry base that predominantly delivered hydroelectricity into the national market. The availability of biomass also enabled a range of generation projects to be developed at relatively small scales. This strong industry base provided the springboard for the delivery of new projects (including efficiency gains and refurbishment to existing infrastructure), which became viable with the incentives provided by the MRET scheme.

Australia has a relatively small population and the commercialization of technologies developed domestically is relatively problematic. This is because new technologies need to be produced in large quantities in order to enable market entry with prices that are competitive with existing technologies. This applies equally to newly developed renewable energy technologies. Despite this need, there have been some renewable energy manufacturing successes including BP Solar and Origin Energy's solar PV manufacturing plants, the Vestas blades and nacelle manufacturing facilities, Keppel Prince and Air-ride Technologies pylons manufacturing as well as the ten major manufacturers of solar water heaters.

This report covers all the sectors of the Australian renewable energy industry and analyzes each in detail, dealing with issues, production/consumption data, industry reforms, major players in the industry, regulatory frameworks governing the market, and much more. It is a complete coverage of the Australian renewable energy industry.