Media

Australia’s energy market operator, AEMO, is warning of power shortages in NSW, Victoria and South Australia in the coming years, as key energy projects fall behind schedule. Its latest report calls for urgent investment and coordination of smaller-scale energy projects to shore up the grid’s reliability. Energy analysts say rooftop solar and household batteries will be crucial in keeping the lights on. Read more

Tim Buckley, the executive director Climate energy Finance has similarly pinpointed green iron as “the number one opportunity” for Australia in the zero emissions global economy and a $100 billion a year export value uplift opportunity. Read more

“It is ridiculous and beyond disappointing that the Australian Government in 2024 is releasing a long-term strategy that centres methane gas in the transition to net zero by 2050. The strategy released today is a massive misstep in the context of the strides the Albanese government has been making in pivoting to our economic future as renewables powered zero-emissions trade and investment leader. Read more

[Starts around 9:50]Tim Buckley, Director of Climate Energy Finance, expresses concerns about the government’s continued backing of the gas industry. He indicates that the government’s shift in position towards gas, contrasting it with recent talks of embracing renewable energy and climate science. Buckley emphasizes the vast investment opportunities in renewables and the need for appropriate policy support to seize them. Regarding future gas projects, Buckley argues against further investment in methane gas production, advocating instead for accelerated adoption of renewable energy solutions. He criticizes the government’s preference for gas over renewables, seeing it as a perpetuation of fossil fuel interests and a hindrance to addressing climate change. He urges policymakers to prioritize renewable energy infrastructure and electrification initiatives as viable alternatives to gas dependence. Read more

The story quotes CEF partner – the Clean Energy Investor Group, representing developers and investors with a combined $38 billion renewable energy portfolio and a project pipeline of almost 50 gigawatts, welcomed the policy, saying it could unlock significant investment through the superannuation system. Read more

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In a speech to Queensland’s Media Club, Albanese laid out the foundations of federal Labor’s plan to use taxpayer-funded incentives to advance the manufacturing and clean energy industries, including hydrogen, green metals, solar power and emerging renewables. “Albanese’s speech announcing the Act is ambitious and visionary,” said Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance and a former MD of Citigroup. “It has the makings of the foundation for our future as a zero-emissions trade and investment leader and global clean energy superpower, as we inevitably pivot from our historic dependence on carbon exports. Buckley says Albanese’s vision is to build on Australia’s existing strengths – and critically, also look beyond them – a point many “old-school economists” have so far failed to grasp. “Relying on traditional competitive advantage logic misses that the transition to net zero is a $US4-6 trillion annual investment opportunity globally for the next couple of decades… and one in which every major economy has invested massive national interest public capital,” Buckley said on Thursday. Read more

The new analysis is the first to quantify and compare the capital allocations of the Big 4 banks to renewable energy and whole of economy decarbonisation. It reveals that only 7% of the Big 4 banks’ collective $385bn sustainable finance target (SFT) by 2030 is directed to financing renewable energy and hard to abate industries. The vast majority of their climate-related capital allocations – between 44% and 72% – channelled into the low hanging fruit of BAU ‘green buildings’ that meet minimum energy efficiency regulations. Read more

A coalition including leading union, investor, energy, industry and First Nations peak groups today called on the federal government to embed requirements for locally produced and supplied components into all renewable energy supply chain manufacturing and development. A measured, considered local content requirement (LCR) in CIS tenders will support the domestic clean energy and technology supply chains to mature. Read more

In what is a feat of corporate climate denialism and dereliction of fiduciary duty to invest strategically for the long-term interests of shareholders, Woodside this week cited market uncertainty over the climate science as a reason to delay its green investments. The $55 billion fossil fuel giant – Australia’s biggest – will simultaneously accelerate deployment of three high-emissions greenfield methane gas and oil developments globally, pointing to mythically high return projections completely unsupported by reality to support the play. Apparently, Woodside just sees too many climate scenarios and doesn’t know which one to pick! And blames its customers for its corporate confusion. Read more

Victoria, like Australia, is on notice. We need to plan and build-in energy system resilience as a key priority, and invest in a modern, flexible grid that is future-proofed. This requires pivoting emphatically and as a matter of urgency from risky dependence on end-of-life, unreliable, polluting centralised coal-plants like Loy Yang A, built four decades ago for a completely different energy market. Thermal coal power plants are not part of the solution – they are the problem. Alongside big solar, wind and batteries, we stand on the precipice of a revolutionary opportunity to massively upscale consumer energy resources, like solar PV on rooftops everywhere, household batteries, and EVs sending power to the grid. Read more

The Fels report released today finds There is price gouging in the electricity market and widespread gaming of the system by gentailers, as there has been in transmission, meaning consumers are paying too much and exacerbating the cost of living crisis. Read more