The government is coming under considerable pressure from within its own ranks to make a deal on the RET.

It is no secret that the government is keen to scale back the target for renewable energy resources.

The RET is designed to ensure that 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020.

It is designed to help with the transition away from burning fossil fuel such as coal to generate power to cleaner and more diverse sources.

Progress is painfully slow and politics is getting in the way of progress by hindering growth and employment in the renewable energy sector because of indecision.

On Monday in Portland, a Select Committee on Wind Turbines will meet.

It will be told by the Glenelg Shire Council that the shire supports policies and processes which promote the deployment of renewable energy projects, the attraction of clean energy investment and the creation of jobs.

It will also hear from turbine manufacturer Keppell Prince, which a few years ago employed 520 people but now struggles to keep half that number in jobs.

And of course it will hear from those who are vehemently opposed to wind turbines because they believe they make people living close to them sick.

It should be an interesting meeting.

The clean energy industry is in desperate need of some certainty.

Investment has dried up, jobs are at risk, the wind industry is beset by claim and counter-claim about the health effects of turbines and meanwhile the rest of the world is striding forward with its clean energy projects.

In Australia, we can’t even make our minds up about what our clean energy targets should be. It’s a mess and it must be cleaned up without delay.

We need a coherent industry policy around our clean energy future.

There is a lot at stake.