Media

Last week again demonstrated the growing unreliability of end of life coal fired power plants which costs Australians and domestic heavy industry dearly. Paul McArdle of WattClarity highlights the massive spike in power prices on 8 July 2026 that saw pricing average >A$300/MWh for most of the evening peak across not just Victoria but the entire National Electricity Market (NEM) last Wednesday. From 10.05am, the 6 x Loy Yang lignite coal-fired power plant units across Loy Yang A (AGL) and Loy Yang B (now Sembcorp owned Alinta) rebid upwards due to a ‘coal shortfall’. Read more

Australia has blazed a trail as one of the fastest-growing export markets for Chinese batteries amid a rapid shift to domestic renewable energy by one of the world’s largest fossil fuel producers. Read more

Stored power is increasingly meeting evening demand and reducing the case for some new transmission lines, said Commonwealth Bank of Australia energy economist John Oh. Australia’s energy market operator expects pooled home batteries to eliminate A$5 billion in grid-scale battery investments. “Distributed ​energy driven by batteries is a ​great alternative to circumvent delays in ⁠grid transmission buildout, and this can be replicated across the Asia-Pacific,” said Climate Energy Finance Director Tim Buckley. Read more

Governments, businesses and households are pivoting because electrification increasingly makes economic sense. For Australia, this presents both an opportunity and a warning. We remain the world’s third-largest exporter of fossil fuels, yet many of our biggest export markets are simultaneously accelerating their transition towards renewable electricity and electrified industries. As these economies in Asia continue reducing their dependence on imported coal and gas, Australia’s long-term export profile must change. Rather than resisting that shift in a way that leaves workers exposed to sudden shocks, we should prepare for it. Read more

Electric car sales continue to surge in Australia even as the energy crisis fades, and tax breaks on fuel begin to phase out, with both BYD and Tesla selling record numbers of vehicles last month. BYD recorded an astonishing 18,881 vehicles in June, up from 8211 in May. Its rival Tesla sold 8670 vehicles in June, surpassing its previous record of 6433 set in May. In June last year Tesla sold 4589 cars in Australia. Read more

Tim Buckley joined the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and Renewable Energy Council Asia-Pacific (RECAP) delegation to China. Read more

Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, an Australian think-tank, told ST the reservation scheme was long overdue and that the prices paid by Australian consumers for gas were “obscene”. He said the scheme, which could include a price cap for domestic sales, will ensure Australians do not pay export prices for their own gas. But, he said, the scheme will not affect export prices or volumes because the country already uses about 20 per cent of its overall supply. “The scheme is a very important and necessary initiative,” he said. Read more

John Grimes, CEO of the Renewable Energy Council Asia Pacific; Tim Buckley, Director of Climate Energy Finance; and Qian Zhengyang of Mingyang Smart Energy Group discussed China–Australia clean energy cooperation and the role of green supply chains in the global energy transition in an interview with CGTN’s Mi Sutong. Read more

Climate Energy Finance analyst Matt Pollard has argued publicly that applying maintenance capital to ageing coal generators, without simultaneously building out low-cost renewable replacement capacity, creates compounding risks for the Queensland grid. His position is that the economic and environmental sustainability of the grid is placed under increasing stress when the approach focuses on preserving legacy assets rather than enabling their replacement. Read more

NSW stood to gain almost $265 million from the US-Iran-Israel war, with the 2026-27 budget revising royalties up by $84 million in 2025-26 and $186 million in 2026-27. Pollard attributed this to higher thermal coal prices that stemmed from disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz, which directly affected oil and petrochemical derivatives but also coal, which is benchmarked against Brent Crude prices. Read more

NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey was unequivocal on the central role of energy transition in economic growth and prosperity. Mookhey emphasised that the renewables transition is a top driver of investment into the state, with renewable energy infrastructure a significant contributor to the 20% surge in investment over the year to the March quarter 2026. Read more

Data centre proponents could lose social licence to operate far faster than has in some cases happened in the electricity sector, given the scale and speed of proposed developments. Climate Energy Finance (CEF) and our partners at the Carbon Zero Initiative are calling for a set of binding public interest principles that would shape the emergence of the data centre sector in Australia. Read more