Malcolm Turnbull has talked down the idea of the federal government investing in coal-fired power.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has advocated taxpayers money be spent through schemes such as the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund on "high efficiency" coal-fired power generation.
Mr Turnbull told a business forum in Melbourne on Thursday there was an important role for government in setting energy policy.
"But the goal should always be for investment decisions to be made by the market ... on economic grounds," Mr Turnbull said.
His goal was to ensure Australians could access affordable and reliable energy while meeting Australia's emissions targets, but beyond that the "technology that is used to get there should be judged on its merits".
