Energy policy was front and centre at the Nationals federal conference in Canberra, which Mr Joyce addressed on Saturday morning.
"Somewhere between floor 13 and 14 the lift will stop with you in it - an uncomfortable experience if you need to go to the bathroom," the Nationals leader said.
Ensuring baseload power supply meant seeking coal fired power solutions - including seeking to extend the life of the Liddell power station in NSW, Mr Joyce said.
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He contrasted negotiations over Liddell to the closure of Victoria's Hazelwood power station early this year.
"We don't want the Victorian Labor experience becoming our national experience," Mr Joyce said.
At the conference, a motion to phase out subsidies for renewable energy was debated and carried.
Victorian Nationals MP Andrew Broad said one form of electricity generation should not be subsidised over another.
"But I do not want the signal sent out of this conference that we are against renewable energy," he said.
Queensland Nationals senator and former resources minister Matthew Canavan said when it came to jobs, renewables were "just a short term sugar hit".
"We've taken all the subsidies away from our farming sector and now the biggest protection racket going around is in our renewable energy sector," Mr Canavan told the conference.
Mr Joyce said renewables were here to stay.
"We have our international obligations," he said. "But we must not lose sight of where the main game is, and baseload coal fired power it is and will remain."
Ahead of an emergency motion on Sunday to ban the burqa, put forward by Queensland National MP George Christensen, Mr Joyce would not reveal how he would vote.
"I love the democracy of my party. George is a good mate, but we don't necessarily agree on every issue," he said.
