The Clean Energy Council (CEC) is refusing to let the Federal Government cut the Renewable Energy Target (RET) without a fight.

Responding to Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane's comments last week, the CEC says the RET must stay as it is.

It came after Mr MacFarlane made comments indicating he felt Australia had too much renewable energy, and it is now threatening the traditional coal and gas sectors.

Speaking to the ABC, the Industry Minister said he wanted an agreement with Labor that “addresses the fact we have 9000 megawatts ... of excess capacity”.

Macfarlane said; “[the] Labor Party have to come to that negotiation cognisant of the fact that we have more than 15 per cent overcapacity in generation in Australia”.

“[The RET] review showed that we have too much coal-fired power generation in Australia, not too much renewable energy,” Clean Energy Council acting chief executive Kane Thornton says.

“Recent polls by Crosby Textor and others show that voters overwhelmingly want to see Australia use more renewable energy, and less coal-fired electricity,” said.

But the Industry Minister appears to be suggesting the balance should be shifted by way of regulation.

Macfarlane last week touted the merits of the Business Council of Australia’s proposition to reduce the target while also instituting a price floor to preserve the value of past renewable investments, but renewable energy developers did not welcome the moves, The Australian Financial Review reports.

“I'd be very cautious about that kind of approach - that is a very interventionist approach to the market. You can get all sorts of unintended consequences,” Acciona Energy MD Andrew Thomson told the AFR.

“A floor price mechanism seems to go against a core position of the Coalition, that they don't wish to interfere with the market,” Senvion managing director Chris Judd said.