Minerals Council of Australia executive director of coal Greg Evans said coal fired generation was the cheapest and most reliable electricity source in Australia, available 24 hours a day, every day.

“An energy blueprint that strays away from coal generation or deliberately excludes its contribution in the future means higher prices and less reliable electricity for everyday Australians, industry and businesses,” he said. 

“Despite some early commentary about the report it’s not a technology neutral approach to devise an arbitrary emission threshold test, especially one based on narrow point source emissions and not life-cycle methodology.

“Coal should not be deliberately cast aside from the energy mix especially as it is well placed to compete on merit and deliver on the Prime Minister’s correctly identified priorities of affordability, reliability and low emissions.”

Evans said Australia’s history and economic development had been built on the bedrock of the cheap and reliable energy coal has provided.

“Looking to the future modern super-efficient coal plants should still figure prominently and remain the mainstay of our electricity system while complementing other energy technologies,” he said.

“Technology leading countries including Japan and Germany understand this and anchor their electricity production with affordable, reliable and low emission coal generation as do the fast-growing economies of Asia with some 1200 high efficiency low emissions units under construction or planned in the region. 

“Australia also has access to the highest quality coal in our own backyard and the rest of the world pays us a premium to use it.  Accordingly, it would seem an epic economic own goal not to use Australian coal for our own purposes.”

There will be changes in Australia’s existing energy generation over coming decades to replace aging generation.  

However grid stability has to be ensured and energy costs need to be kept  as affordable as possible.  

Meanwhile the Australian Conservation Foundation said the only way to fix the national energy market was with a plan to shift from coal and gas to clean energy and storage quickly. 

ACF climate change and clean energy program manager Gavan McFadzean said a Lower Emissions Target scheme that helped prop up gas or coal would delay that shift.

“Finkel’s writing instructions were to deliver an energy blueprint to meet our Paris targets assure energy security, reliability, affordability while cutting carbon pollution,” he said. 

“We need a national plan to get to net zero carbon pollution well before 2050. Without that we won’t keep global warming below the critical 1.5 degree threshold, necessary to save the Great Barrier Reef and avoid dangerous global warming.”