Mr Joyce, speaking at a Queensland Media Club lunch on Wednesday, said Queensland should not be following the example of solar power-reliant South Australia, which was plagued with a black out in September.

"If you want to know what a basket case looks like, look at South Australia," Mr Joyce said.

"They had a major storm, you had one last night, they had a major storm and the whole state blacked out.

"This state is now talking about, what, a 50 per cent renewable target? You must have gone bonkers mad.

"This is crazy, haven't you seen South Australia on the news?"

A detailed report into South Australia's blackout was due to be handed down in the first half of 2017, with conflicting theories over its cause, ranging from a loss of transmission lines during a rare cyclonic-strength storm and a loss of wind generation causing the system to "trip".

Mr Joyce said Queensland had one of the biggest coal resources on the planet and should focus on developing affordable, reliable, coal-fired power stations.

The Queensland state government has a target of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030.

Energy Minister Mark Bailey described the federal government's attack on Queensland's renewable energy target as a distraction from their climate change policy.

"What's bonkers is sticking your head in the sand and pretending climate change doesn't exist," Mr Bailey said.

"We're committed to a clean energy future, acting on climate change and protecting the Great Barrier Reef while maintaining economic growth and jobs in our regions."

Mr Bailey said Queensland had the youngest and most efficient base-load generation fleet in the nation, with a high level of energy security.

"Queensland's transition to 50 percent renewable energy by 2030 is both environmentally and economically responsible as outlined in the independent Renewable Energy Expert Panel's draft report."

Mr Joyce also ruled out a federal carbon tax and said the nation was meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement without it.

"I fought against the carbon tax and there is no carbon tax under any government that I'm a part of, nor will there ever be," Mr Joyce said.

"That is quite emphatically clear."

Earlier this week, Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg announced an energy review, saying it would consider an emissions intensity scheme for electricity generators - a form of carbon pricing

But he then changed tack on Tuesday, and denied having made the comments in the first place.

Mr Joyce backed the $21.7 billion Adani Carmichael coal mine.

"When I hear people standing up against the development of the central Queensland coal fields and the Adani mine... I ask the question, where is your alternate source of income going to come from?" he said.

"If you don't want that wealth, where is your alternate source of wealth going to come from?"

Mr Joyce said he supported Adani's rail line receiving $1 billion from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.

"Let's get the thing built and get the money flowing," he said.

"You need that money to flow. If the loan facilitates that happening, or expediting this process, then I've got no problems with the loan."

When asked if the project would fit the criteria for the NAIF loan, after the Indian energy giant said the loan was "not critical", Mr Joyce said the rail line was not there, and the mine was not there.

"You don't give them a loan, it never gets built," he said.