The federal government is forging ahead with its plan to dramatically boost renewable energy, in what will be a double whammy for electricity prices.
Climate Change Minister Penny Wong released a paper yesterday, on how to reach the controversial target to have 20 per cent of electricity generated from renewable sources by 2020.
The government's Mandatory Renewable Energy Target is separate from emissions trading but both will cause electricity prices to rise.
The MRET has come under fire from some in the non-renewable energy sector, who say it's unnecessary, given emissions trading will soon be in place.
But Senator Wong is sticking with the renewable target saying it'll have a key role to play in helping to move to the clean economy of the future.
She's told 2GB's Philip Clark although she's aware the community may not have a complete understanding of some of the issues, there are some basic points on which to build.
"I have no doubt that this is a really complex issue and the policy we want to implement is complex and that's why we need a good dialogue with Australian people going forward," she said.
"It seems to me the two basic propositions that people generally tend to agree with is that climate change is happening and we want to do something about it."