Soleir's Dubbo Solar One Project was expected to proceed late last year and be completed by the middle of this year, but the company said progress would remain difficult until the federal government made "its political view known" now it had completed its review of the Renewable Energy Target (RET).

Soleir's business had been underpinned by a legislated large-scale RET that required about 10,000MW of new renewable projects by 2020 and created financial incentives to establish and grow renewable energy power stations, including solar farms.

"We don't want the issue coming up every two years," Soleir general manager business development Edwin Foong said.

"These are long-term assets and it becomes difficult for investors to come in when there is that uncertainty."

Earlier this week Industry Minster Ian Macfarlane said large-scale renewable energy projects would be "more than accommodated" under a reduced RET.

He insisted "nothing has changed" in the Coalition's commitment to a 20 per cent RET as he highlighted a fall in electricity usage in Australia.

The Coalition and Labor had began negotiating putting in place a so-called "real 20 per cent" RET that would see the target for large-scale renewable energy cut from 41,000 gigawatt hours to about 27,000 gigawatt hours annually by 2020.

"When the target was set, when the Coalition agreed to 20 per cent, the expected production of electricity was 300,000 gigawatt hours," Mr Macfarlane said, which meant "20 per cent of that was 60,000 gigawatt hours."

"Move forward to 2014, the overall prediction of electricity consumption has fallen by 15 per cent to 255,000 gigawatt hours. And on that basis the amount of electricity we need to produce in terms of renewables is 51,000 gigawatt hours. No change, still 20 per cent."

Opponents of a change to the RET target argue a downward revision effectively cuts the target.

But the government argues keeping the target at 41,000 gigawatt hours would mean, in effect, a rise in the RET to 27 per cent.

Mr MacFarlane said: "you can't expect Australia to accept a 27 per cent renewable target. 20 per cent was the deal, 20 per cent is where we are" while adding that he "didn't buy" industry suggestions that a cut from the 41,000 gigawatt hour figure would damage the sector's prospects.

Despite claims of industry uncertainty, large-scale solar projects at Nyngan and Moree had progressed, according to Parkes MP Mark Coulton.

"There is still the capacity for some large-scale solar projects in the pipeline - I'm turning the sod on the Moree one next week," he said.

Mr Coulton expected an announcement on the RET very soon.

"I think with this review, having it every two years unsettles the industry," he said.

"When the decision becomes legislation I'm pretty sure it will be set for a longer time, so regardless of that scale of how much renewable energy we have, investors can be confident that won't change every couple of years.

"People are using less electricity, that's not always good if they're hotter in summer and cooler in winter.

"That target has reduced emissions, no argument there, but perhaps the price we've paid is business viability and quality of life".

Soleir, a subsidiary of Red Sky Energy, signed a lease with Dubbo City Council in June 2012 for 25 hectares of council-owned land in Boothenba Road.

The following April it announced a feasibility study of the proposed 2.5 megawatt photovoltaic (PV) project was not only viable but had possibly a 35-year project life. An agreement struck with Essential Energy had also paved the way for export of the project's electricity into the Dubbo power grid.

The project was also to have seen, for the first time in Australia, unitised ownership of a utility scale solar project by investors, who would be offered a minimum of 10 panels at $6500 a panel.

Last year the company built an initial set of panels "to iron out the construction methodology", Mr Foong said, but further progress expected to have boosted the local economy, including about 40 per cent of project costs being spent locally in structural steel, earthworks and concrete supply, was yet to eventuate.

"If you look back a year or more ago there was what appeared to be bipartisan support for this (RET) policy but as a result of the recent review that support has been questioned," Mr Foong said.

"We remain positive it will resolve itself. It might take a few months but Soleir in general has a compelling case, it's providing clean power and the scale we're doing it at, has a small environmental footprint that blends in with the environment.

"We have lined up local contractors, including electricians, to supply us when the project can go ahead."