Media

Japan plans to divert excess renewable energy to crypto operations, raising the issue of storage. Tim Buckley points to pumped hydro as a solution, saying that it can be a cost-effective way for Japan to store excess energy from sources such as floating wind turbines and solar, providing energy security and reducing emissions. Read more

In this feature on the flaws in the carbon offsets available under the Safeguard Mechanism emissions reduction framework applying to Australia’s biggest emitters, Tim Buckley notes that fossil-fuel multinationals operating in Australia made $120 to $140 billion gross profit last year alone on exports of Australian LNG and coal. Read more

Adani had made a deal for Bangladesh to import power from its 1,600MW Godda power plant in India, using coal from Adani’s Australian Carmichael mine. Tim Buckley said the Bangladeshi deal “is one of the most expensive power purchase agreements” he has ever seen and “strategically ridiculous” for Bangladesh. Read more

While the federal government’s safeguard mechanism reform is flawed – in particular, offsets should be strictly limited – it does provide the policy architecture for a high permanent price on carbon – essential to driving decarbonisation, alongside the suite of policy initiatives designed to accelerate the energy transition. After 10 years of LNP failure, this is a massive win. Read more

AEMO’s electricity opportunities update today confirms significant progress on grid decarbonisation in the last 6 months – with a staggering 209GW of new firmed renewables worth > A$250 billion in the pipeline – coupled with the urgent need for accelerating investment in generation, long-duration storage and transmission to ensure supply over the next decade. The acceleration of long delayed deployment of EVs and charging networks also means it’s time for AEMO to start modelling EV-to-grid charging opportunities. With ~20 million EVs in Australia within two decades, this equates to a collective new asset base of 800 gigawatt hours of batteries. Read more

Tim Buckley comments on today’s release by the Australian Energy Market Operator of its electricity market update, noting there has been significant progress on decarbonising the energy grid in the past six months, with a 209 gigawatt pipeline of new firmed renewables proposals worth over $250 billion, highlighting the massive regional employment and investment opportunities from decarbonisation – but also observing the urgent need for further capacity investment to offset exiting fossil fuels. Read more

In this feature, Tim Buckley notes that Adani’s troubles since it was accused of the world’s biggest con by Wall St research firm Hindenburg presents “huge potential capacity for other national players to step up, leveraging their domestic skills and capacity, combined with expanding global capital access and interest in investing in Indian renewables and grid infrastructure”. Read more

Tim Buckley told Crikey it’s clear the “pervasive corrupting influence of coal [is] permeating through all government decisions” as India eyes potential global superpower status and “Adani leverages crony capitalism for everything he can milk from it.” Read more

The price on carbon in the safeguard mechanism will be capped at $75/tonne, increasing annually by CPI plus 2 per cent to a possible $100 by 2030. Tim Buckley notes this means that by 2030 the companies that own the polluting facilities can either invest in new clean technologies or processes, or cop a collective $4.9 billion annual hit, which will double again to $9 billion by 2035. Read more

Tim Buckley in this Forbes magazine story on Adani’s brother in light of the Hindenburg allegations: “I’ve always thought it was a partnership. Gautam was the warm, cuddly, friendly public face of the pair, and Vinod the mastermind in the private tax haven, the real puppet master.” Read more

A feature on Adani’s international investments and their intersections with India’s foreign policy from Washington based think tank the Stimson Centre quotes Tim Buckley’s commentary from Washington Post. Read more

Tim Buckley comments as the Greens decline to support federal Safeguard Mechanism reforms unless the government commits to banning new coal and gas: while “any argument that Australia needs new coal and gas supplies is pure fossil fuel spin” there is a need for a well regulated carbon market, complete with high quality offsets. “People are underestimating the financial benefit of getting a high, regulated price on carbon into the Australian economy. That is a massive win.” Read more