Media

The last few weeks have been an object lesson in the benefits of the transformation of our energy market, dispelling the myths promulgated by fossil fuel vested interests that increased renewable energy means more expensive power and reduced grid reliability. We have seen exactly the opposite of that: with increased extreme weather events including unprecedented heatwaves and devastating fires in southeast Australia, the grid has proven resilient under surging demand and stress, and now the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) confirms that increased renewables correlates with a significant decline in wholesale prices. Read more

During the current heat wave, with nighttime temperatures around 40°C, rooftop solar panels are struggling to supply energy, and household […] Read more

Energy analyst Tim Buckley says Australia is on the right track with renewable energy but warns the pace of change must accelerate to ensure grid reliability, affordability, and climate targets are met. Speaking after Origin Energy announced a two-year extension for the Eraring coal-fired power station, Buckley criticised the decision as a short-term fix that highlights deeper issues in the energy transition. “Coal is unreliable, expensive and destroying our planet,” he said. “We’ve had 20 outages at Callide C in Queensland in just four years. These end-of-life coal plants are the real reliability problem.” Read more

As the world moves towards reducing its reliance on fossil fuels and combating climate change, nations are looking to capitalize on renewable resources like solar and wind power. When it comes to the wind energy sector, China is dominating the landscape — leading in annual installations, manufacturing, as well as building on two decades’ worth of streamlining a robust supply chain. By the end of 2024, China had installed a mind-boggling 521 Gigawatts of wind power capacity, according to data from China’s National Energy Administration (via Climate Energy Finance). Read more

The withdrawal is another blow to the technology, which has so far failed to live up to its hype, partly because the financial incentives to use CCS are not strong enough. “It’s only going to work if the economics justify it and the engineering can be done,” says Climate Energy Finance director Tim Buckley. “I think CCS could work at the wellhead, but you need a high price.” He points to Chevron’s $3 billion CCS system set up to capture carbon dioxide from the Gorgon gas field, offshore from Western Australia, as an example. Read more

Climate Energy Finance director Tim Buckley has previously pointed to Chevron’s Gorgon CCS project as an example of underperformance. Despite more than $3 billion in investment, the facility captured approximately 1.6 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2024, well below its design capacity. Under Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism reforms, large emitters such as Inpex are now required to progressively reduce emissions. Inpex reported emissions of 6.7 million tons of CO2 in the year to June 2024, just below its regulatory baseline. Read more

Climate Energy Finance founder and director Tim Buckley said the decision to extend Eraring’s closure reflected a “total failure of planning by Origin”. “Origin Energy has failed to build any replacement generation capacity despite knowing for decades Eraring is due for closure,” Buckley said. “But the reality is that the permanent sustainable solution is to build distributed and utility scale renewable energy firmed by batteries at speed and scale, ignoring the small but noisy minority trying to hold back the energy system transformation. “We need permanent solutions—new capacity—at speed and scale, not yet more bandaids on unreliable end-of-life coal plant clunkers.” Read more

Tim Buckley, energy analyst and director of Climate Energy Finance, says Western Australia’s coal industry is a long-running financial and […] Read more

Origin Energy’s Eraring coal-fired power station, the state’s largest generator at just under 3,000 megawatts, was originally set to close […] Read more

Eraring power station near Newcastle will remain open until April 2029 after Origin Energy advised AEMO the extension was needed to support New South Wales during the energy transition. Tim Buckley said Australia is undertaking a rapid, real-time transformation never done before, with inevitable setbacks. Major projects such as Snowy Hydro 2.0 and EnergyConnect are delayed and over budget, affecting grid reliability. However, battery costs have halved, grid plans are shifting towards storage rather than transmission, and Australia reached a record 50.1 per cent renewable share in late 2025, with power prices falling 28 per cent. Tim said flexibility, not permanence, explains Eraring’s extension. Read more

“It is disappointing to hear Origin Energy plans to continue the Eraring coal-power plant life till April 2029. This reflects a total failure of planning by Origin to protect its customers. Origin Energy has failed to build any replacement generation capacity despite knowing for decades Eraring is due for closure. “CEF applauds the Albanese Government’s Cheaper Home Batteries program that has underpinned the installation of 200,000 new home batteries with an amazing combined capacity of 4.7GWh in just over six months. That is the speed and scale of action that is being supported by Australian residences. We just need to focus on the cost-competitive solutions at hand to permanently solve our fossil fuel addiction and the resulting energy-related cost of living crisis.” Read more

Climate and green energy experts say the decision by Origin Energy to keep the country’s biggest coal-fired power plant, Eraring in NSW, open for an additional two years is a sign renewables haven’t been built fast enough. They say it means higher electricity bills because the cheapest power in the NSW grid comes from renewable energy. Tim Buckley, the founder and director of Climate Energy Finance, says the news that Eraring will be extended to April 2029 is “disappointing”. Read more