But her most telling advice is in relation to policy certainty beyond 2020, which is the deadline for the current renewable energy target. "If you bring it back to Australia I think it is that clarity of policy that is so important," she says.

"Investors are waiting on the sidelines right now to see how the off-takes are established. I think that's really the big challenge. Around the world investors have many options to invest in renewable energy with long-term PPAs [power purchase agreements], so it comes down to a risk profile – the risk versus the reward."

McEntee says in many countries developers of renewable projects are signing 15- and 20-year PPAs. These are in line with the life cycles of the equipment.

"It's a much lower risk for investors to guarantee the returns," she says. "So as we think about the future of Australia, I applaud the government for the renewable energy target, but how far out is that going to go?

"Are people going to see a long-term stable position? And how the 'gentailers' decide to procure that renewable energy is extremely important, because it is going to take more innovative financial structures to get the financial community to come in and actually commit."

McEntee says the move by AGL Energy to partner with QIC and the Future Fund in a new renewable energy fund is a great example of innovation in finance and more of this will be needed.

In GE's case its innovative finance package in Australia was for the Ararat wind farm in Victoria, which was the first major wind farm contract to be signed following restored bipartisan support for the RET.

GE said the 240MW Ararat Wind Farm would be the third-largest wind farm in Australia and had attracted almost $500 million of direct international investment into Victoria.

McEntee said the Ararat wind farm included a creative financial structure with a mix of contracted power and merchant power. She says GE will be able to use that in other projects in Australia.

An estimated $10 billion of investment in renewables will occur over the next five to six years.

"As the generating companies decide on how they are going to remix their portfolios, I think there is opportunity in this country and that is why we are here this week," she says.