As Tim Buckley says, AEMO’s new Electricity Statement of Opportunities demonstrates yet again that state and federal governments must move to expedite planned transmission projects, utility and distributed renewable energy generation, and storage, and that notably, any risks to supply can be adequately addressed by renewable energy transition initiatives currently underway. Read more

Tim Buckley says Origin is simply bowing to the inevitable by shutting Eraring seven years ahead of schedule in August 2025. He says not only is Eraring one of the most exposed power plants to volatile coal prices — if not the most — it is also among the hardest hit by the influx of renewable energy on the system. This is because Eraring — like all ageing coal-fired power plants — needs to run more or less flat out around the clock. But amid a flood of green power — particularly during the middle of the day when solar output was highest — it was having to run despite the daily cratering of prices. “If I go and flood the NSW market with a shedload of solar, that’s going to gut Eraring, it’s going to gut Bayswater because they have zero flexibility,” Buckley says. It was not designed to be flexible. Read more

Tim Buckley from Climate Energy Finance says using taxpayer subsidies to extend the life of Eraring would be “a massive retrograde step,” when what is needed is the exact opposite – an accelerated transition to firmed renewables. Read more

An extended interview with Tim Buckley on the Utopia Now! podcast covering why finance is important for mitigating the ecological and climate crisis, how the green energy transition is going, whether we are decarbonising fast enough, and government capture by fossil fuel interests amongst other topics. Read more

On the first anniversary of the game-changing US Inflation Reduction that has turbocharged energy transition there and triggered a global race to the top, Tim Buckley and Blair Palese review its top 5 impacts and the top 5 actions Australia should take to respond. Read more

Read more

Tim Buckley speaks at the Australian National Manufacturing Summit noting that while the federal government has plans to value add to get more out of the country’s rich endowment of in-demand minerals, “Australia’s critical minerals strategy has lovely words but $500 million doesn’t cut it,” in the context of massive accelerating public capital commitments to energy transition by our trade partners and competitors. Read more

Tim Buckley said reconfiguring the transmission grid would increase reliability and is key for decarbonisation and a shift away from fossil fuel commodity volatility. Read more

As Victoria bans methane gas in new homes, Tim Buckley notes the rollout of green hydrogen is facing its own challenges. Whilst Australia’s $2bn Hydrogen Headstart scheme, set to start in fiscal 2027, has been touted to kick start the hydrogen economy, Tim Buckley warned that handing out money is not an economical or long-term solution. “Subsidies are time limited, which means they are limited in their effectiveness and nature. The industry is not going to be viable absent those subsidies. You ultimately need a price on carbon,, where companies would do the right thing or pay tax for doing the wrong thing, in this case carbon emissions.” Read more

As Victoria bans gas in new homes, Tim Buckley says the decision signals a broader shift in attitudes towards gas. Having sold Australian gas offshore more cheaply than it did domestically the industry is losing its social license. It is now an easier target for reform by governments determined to cut greenhouse gas emissions and household costs. Read more

AEMO reports the June quarter wholesale electricity prices are down 59 per cent year-on-year. That is a major relief after 18 months of unprecedented fossil fuel hyperinflation,” Tim Buckley said. Read more

As Tim Buckley says, AEMO’s report shows electricity prices are down as fossil fuel hyperinflation driven by war profiteering of coal and gas producers moderates and renewables start to come online. Wholesale electricity in the June quarter have dropped 59% in the June quarter year on year. Read more