Media

The NSW government has this morning confirmed it will “engage” with Origin Energy to extend operations of the 2.9 GW Eraring power station. The announcement quickly drew criticism, with Climate Energy Finance director, Tim Buckley, calling the move “totally unjustified.” Buckley added public money would be far better spent accelerating the transition. He called on the NSW government to replicate Queensland’s progressive coal export royalty program, adding: “it’s high time the myth of the presumed centrality of end-of-life, expensive, high emissions coal power to energy security was busted.” Read more

The Minns government will “engage” with the owner of Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station for a “temporary” extension of its operating life, prioritising short-term energy security over emissions reductions. A final cost and length of extending operations of the 2,880-megawatt Eraring power plant near Newcastle would hinge on negotiations with owner Origin Energy, the government said on Tuesday. Energy analyst Tim Buckley, have called on the government to use the funds it would pay Origin to instead quicken the rollout of rooftop solar and batteries for households and businesses to limit the risk of blackouts. Read more

According to energy expert Tim Buckley, “Premier Minns has said categorically he does not want to keep any coal-fired power. Plants running a minute longer than absolutely necessary.” “We would like to see the government evaluate the cost of all the options, rather than this bullshit firestorm,” Buckley said in reference to calls for the continuing operation of the plant. According to Buckley, “the coal lobby has been pushing the government to subsidise Origin to stay open despite Origin’s protestations that they don’t like losing money.” Read more

Last month, leaks emerged suggesting the NSW Electricity Supply and Reliability Review commissioned by the Minns Labor government would recommend taxpayer subsidies to extend the life of Australia’s biggest coal power station, Eraring, on the NSW Central Coast, beyond its closure date of 2025. The recommendation is so contentious that the NSW government has decided to delay its release, originally slated for August. Australian Energy Market Operator modelling out last week – its 10-year electricity sector reliability forecast – gives new insight into the viability of on-time closure. Significantly, it shows that with an effective policy response, there is no electricity supply threat to NSW in relation to shuttering Eraring in 2025. Read more

A story by the political editor of Australian Community Media for the Canberra Times with Tim Buckley as the sole spokesperson, detailing the concept and benefits of “orchestration” of distributed and consumer energy resources. Read more

Tim Buckely told ABC Radio National The World Today, that there is nearly 250GW of renewable energy storage and transmission projects ready to go, and it would only 10-20% of them to deliver reliable energy. However, there is a lack of grid access, details and knowledge from the investors side, which requires our state government to work with the Federal government to accelerate the approval of the key projects that can be delivered in the next 1-2 years view, so we can make sure that the grid stays reliable. Read more

Tim Buckley told ABC Radio National Drive that the Eraring coal-fired power plants is 43 years old, which is beyond its 40 years life, has created instability of its energy supplies. Australia has been exporting all of its gas and coal and repurchase them from overseas at imported price. The LNP signed off a 2 billion dollars agreement to upgrade Snowy 2.0, as a result there will be 12 billion dollars cost for our taxpayers in 7-8 years. We should not relying on projects like Snowy, but accelerating building battery storage, fast approving solar projects across NSW and Australia to boost energy transition in Australia and protect vulnerable communities to ensure the energy transition can benefit everyone. Read more

Tim Buckley from Climate Energy Finance outlines the pressing need for Australian state and federal governments to hasten the implementation of proposed transmission projects and the adoption of renewable energy and storage, in consideration of the August 2023 Electricity Statement of Opportunities. According to Tim, there should be an equitable dispersion of the financial advantages that come from renewable energy projects throughout the impacted communities. Tim expresses optimism about Australia’s latent potential in battery storage technology, asserting the nation’s capacity to significantly contribute to the invention, advancement, and application of ground-breaking batteries. Despite increasing uranium prices, Tim disregards its feasibility in Australia due to insufficient private investment and potential environmental hazards. Read more

Director at think tank Climate Energy Finance, Tim Buckley, said urgent action was needed from state and federal governments. “Accelerating the pace of energy transformation and transitioning our grid is critical to ensuring reliable energy supply and solving the current energy crisis,” he said. Read more

Director at think tank Climate Energy Finance, Tim Buckley, said urgent action was needed from state and federal governments. “The message is clear: accelerating the pace of energy transformation and transitioning our grid is critical to ensuring reliable energy supply and solving the current energy crisis precipitated by the hyperinflation of fossil fuels,” he said. Read more

Despite alarm in the finance press over the closure of coal plants, according to Tim Buckley, director of independent energy finance think tank Climate Energy Finance “forced outages at Australia’s ageing coal power fleet left the grid short of forecast coal generation capacity for nearly one-quarter of the year.” Keeping Eraring open would close the forecasted reliability gaps, yet there are concerns regarding the capacity of the ageing generator. And the cost to NSW taxpayers says Tim Buckley is likely to be north of $200m a year. Read more

Climate Energy Finance Director, Tim Buckley, said that the AEMO’s statement demonstrates that State and Federal Governments must move with urgency to expedite planned transmission projects, utility and distributed renewable energy generation, and storage. “While AEMO’s projections show that in the absence of accelerated delivery some gaps in reliability will arise over the coming decade, this is a result of the retirement of 62 per cent of Australia’s end-of-life coal power clunkers by 2033 – generators that are in any case increasingly unreliable and prone to unplanned outages that impact supply,” Mr Buckley said. Read more