In 2020 China set a target of deploying 1200 gigawatts of wind and solar by 2030. (For comparison’s sake, the total capacity of Australia’s grid is 71 gigawatts.) It is now set to reach that target in 2024, six years early. Its annual deployment has doubled this year after leaping by 50 per cent last year. It is installing the equivalent of Australia’s east coast grid in renewables alone, every three months, says the CEF’s director, Tim Buckley.
Read more
Demand for Australian coal from the nation’s biggest customer is heading for long-term decline as China changes course on energy investment, research shows.
According to a report released on Thursday by independent think tank Climate Energy Finance, Australia must urgently respond and pursue new partnerships with China to replace jobs.
Lead author of the report, Xuyang Dong tracked the investment trends of China’s top five enterprises, which she said pointed to the possibility of the superpower exceeding its energy goals.
Read more
China has vaulted ahead of the rest of the world in solar and wind power installations in 2023, accelerating the energy transition for Australia’s biggest export customer and posing a growing threat to future coal exports.
“China’s demand for Australian exports of thermal and coking coal is set to decline structurally over the longer term due to the greening of China’s power sector and economy,” said Climate Energy Finance director Tim Buckley.
“The report recommends that to minimise economic risk, Australia urgently comprehends and responds at speed to align with China’s massive investment pivot.”
Read more
Climate Energy Finance director Tim Buckley says the revised offer from Brookfield and EIG Partners might mean investors vote for the takeover deal on December 4.
Read more
Climate Energy Finance Director Tim Buckley says the announcing of the Capacity Investment Scheme is a “very significant move” by Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen as it “doubles” on grid capacity of renewables. The targets 82 per cent of Australia’s electricity generation to come from renewables by 2030, along with their targets for a reduction in emissions by 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. Mr Bowen announced the scheme on Thursday which will underwrite 32 gigawatts of new electricity, which consists of 9 gigawatts of storage and 23 gigawatts of variable renewable energy generation. “We, at the moment, have about 32 gigawatts of renewables on grid, in Australia, today and this policy will effectively double that on grid capacity over the next four or five years,” Mr Buckley told Sky News Australia. “That capacity will be brought onstream progressively over the next two, three, four years. “In one initiative, a doubling of the renewable energy capacity on grid in Australia.”
Read more
Renewable energy advocates such as Tim Buckley, director of thinktank Climate Energy Finance, hailed the scheme’s expansion as “exactly the kind of bold, landmark federal policy and investment ambition we need to rapidly transform Australia’s energy market whilst ensuring grid reliability and energy affordability”.
“It will help facilitate the mothballing of polluting coal clunkers such as Origin Energy’s Eraring power station in New South Wales, Australia’s biggest, scheduled for 2025, while enabling stand-by capacity to ensure supply,” he said.
Read more
Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, speaks to pv magazine about the current steep trajectory of solar module prices. He estimates that PV panels prices will end up dropping by 40% this year and predicts the closure of old technology and sub-scale solar manufacturing facilities, both in China and globally.
Buckley also noted the likely new climate accord by Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden, might see a formal call for a tripling of renewables capacity globally by 2030.
“At a time of massive capital investment cost blowouts, to be able to invest in deflationary solar is a massive global boon that will provide cost of living pressure relief as well as improved energy security,” he sai
Read more
The government is expanding its Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) to drive the development of new renewable energy projects.
“This policy alone will add effectively double that on-grid capacity over the next four or five years now,” said Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance.
Read more
Tim Buckley, director at Climate Energy Finance, discusses the key issues at stake for the upcoming Origin Energy’s shareholders vote. He speaks with Bloomberg’s Haidi Stroud-Watts on “Bloomberg Daybreak: Australia.”
Tim told Bloomberg that it is very important for Australia to drive the decarbonisation transformation of our economy at speed and scale required. That requires hundreds of billions of dollars of investment, hence why he supports Brookfield’s bid for Origin as they have the capital to drive the decarbonisation and is willing to do so.
Read more
CEF Tim Buckley and Annemarie Jonson wrote: Energy minister Chris Bowen’s boost to the Capacity investment Scheme (CIS) is a game-changer, expanding federal investment to underwrite a massive target of 32GW of new storage and renewable infrastructure, a huge step-change in national decarbonisation ambition and to be roundly applauded.
This is exactly the kind of bold, landmark federal policy and investment ambition we need to rapidly transform Australia’s energy market whilst ensuring grid reliability and restoring energy affordability.
Read more
Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance and former stockbroker, agrees with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that the public benefit from Brookfield’s ambitious plan outweighs competition concerns raised by its ownership of Victorian poles and wires business AusNet Services.
“At the end of the day, we do have an energy crisis, a cost of living crisis and a climate crisis. And all three of them can be solved by unlocking a huge amount of capital at speed and scale in alignment with building new capacity,” Buckley tells The Australian Financial Review.
Read more
Oped written by CEF’s China Energy Policy Analyst Xuyang Dong and Ember’s climate strategy advisor Chris Wright on China’s recent methane emissions reduction action plan.
China’s recent methane action plan is a game-changer in the global effort to combat emissions. With commitments in its 2026-2030 Five-Year Plan, China is taking a lead in the methane reduction race.
This announcement underscores Australia’s lag in implementing a clear methane action plan, despite being a significant emitter. As COP28 approaches, the diplomatic significance and China’s track record of exceeding targets highlight the urgent need for global methane reduction.
Read more