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Tim Buckley, Founder of Climate Energy Finance said the development of the production tax credit (PTC) model for critical minerals and green hydrogen to incentivise onshore value-adding is a very strong step forward, a clear acknowledgement that Australia can’t simply leave it to free markets when other countries have made such significant public interest interventions, undermining global trade. This will leverage Energy Minister Bowen’s 82% Renewables by 2030 initiative, turbocharged by the 32GW Capacity Investment Scheme which is driving the rollout of utility scale firmed renewables by underpinning and catalysing private investment, meaning Australia can power our refineries with renewable energy so as to export embodied decarbonisation. Read more

In an exclusive interview with ecogeneration, Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, provided insights into the Australian government’s latest federal budget and its implications for the renewable energy sector under the “Future Made in Australia” plan. “This (Federal Budget) significantly contributes to framing the ‘Future Made in Australia’ plan. It robustly allocates resources to the enabling institutions that the federal government aims to establish, fostering a clear strategy to articulate ambitious goals and expedite the development of high-quality renewable energy,” Buckley said. A key aspect of the budget is the $13.7 billion in production tax credits, with half allocated to value-adding in the critical mineral sector. According to Buckley, this is “a very necessary subsidy, in light of the ongoing massive interventions in other countries.” Read more

Tim Buckley, director of the Climate Energy Finance, talks extensively about the need for more extensive capital support in future budgets to help speed up the move towards renewable energy. He notes the recent budget’s significant strides towards decarbonisation and investment, particularly its $21 billion of new budget support, a $7.2 billion increase to the arena for grant funding for battery initiatives, and decarbonisation initiatives. However, Tim holds a desire to see a price on carbon both in Australia and in international trade, highlighting the significance of public strategic investment to propel Australia’s economy forward, while maintaining a green future. Read more

Five industries are targeted by the budget including renewable hydrogen, critical minerals processing, green metals, low carbon liquid fuels and clean energy manufacturing, including battery and solar panel supply chains. Director of Climate Energy Finance Tim Buckley said it was excellent to see the $21 billion down payment. “Tonight’s budget shows a government that understands both this imperative to act to transition Australia to its future as a clean, green superpower and the opportunity cost and risks of not acting to secure Australia’s place in the new net zero world economy, said Buckley. Read more

Finally, after a devastating decade of climate and energy transition chaos, inaction and underinvestment under the LNP luddites, we appear to have a government that appreciates Australia’s comparative advantages. Superabundant renewables, world-leading reserves of critical minerals and strategic metals, an advanced industrial base and strong human capital – are key to locking in our economic prosperity for decades to come. On Tuesday night, the federal government announced $21.0 billion of new funding initiatives under the Future Made in Australia Act strategic framework in Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ 2024-2025 Federal Budget. Read more

Australia touted plans to become a “renewable energy superpower” in an annual budget Tuesday, but the government’s books also laid bare the depth of the economy’s dependence on mining and fossil fuels. Energy analyst Tim Buckley said the push for local manufacturing could also limit Australia’s exposure to external economic shocks. “We can accept that China has cornered the market in an area like solar panels, and resolve to just buy from them forever,” he said. “Or we can build some domestic capacity as a kind of energy security policy.” Read more

Founder and Director of Climate Energy Finance Tim Buckley says: “CEF has been calling for $100bn of capital and budget support over the coming decade to accelerate and turbocharge the development of zero-emissions industries of the future here in Australia. In tonight’s Budget we saw an excellent $21bn down-payment.”“The world is in a rapidly accelerating technology, trade and finance decarbonisation race to the top as the global energy transition speeds up. This is Australia’s biggest investment, employment, and export opportunity in a century to reorient from our fossil fuel reliant past, but we clearly needed this budget to respond strategically, proportionally and fast, which it has done. Read more

Syndicated to Times of India and globally via AFP | The dreams of Australia’s potential as a renewables superpower have invariably come to nothing as policy makers grapple with the country’s long reliance on iron ore, thermal coal, and natural gas – which remain its most lucrative exports. “These massive economic windfalls from mining and coal will soon start to drop off as economies decarbonise,” energy analyst Tim Buckley told AFP. With this plan in the works, and if we make the right choices, that renewables dream could become a reality within the next decade. Read more

The Modi-led “Make in India” campaign “has been an own goal for the Indian people”, Tim Buckley of Climate Energy Finance (CEF) tells Carbon Brief, pointing out that both solar module and battery costs have halved globally over the past year. He says trade barriers have made solar more expensive to install and that India risks “being left behind” in the renewable energy race. He adds: “India has failed to understand the magnitude of the tech advances involved led by China; putting up trade barriers has deprived India. Modi has regularly talked about India building 50GW of solar in a year, but has averaged less than a third of that and has fail[ed] to deliver on it five years in a row.” Read more

The boss of Orica, a major explosives manufacturer that relies on gas, says the federal government’s gas strategy won’t assist what remains of Australia’s manufacturing industry unless it caps prices at globally competitive levels.Analyst Tim Buckley from Climate Energy Finance described the federal government’s gas announcement as “bizarre” and argued it contradicted the government’s decarbonisation ambitions. “Prime Minister Albanese’s Future Made in Australia is exactly the sort of strategy we need, and then the federal government comes out with this own goal,” he told The Business. Read more

“The gas industry has mercilessly price-gouged Australians, with gas prices more than tripling in the last 10 years, driving up energy prices more broadly and destroying manufacturing. Climate Energy Finance think tank director Tim Buckley described the strategy as “ridiculous and beyond disappointing.” “The strategy 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,” he said. “Gas as a transition fuel might have made sense a decade ago, but the climate science and renewables and storage technology landscape has changed fundamentally in the decade since. Power supply firming, where gas plays a small and diminishing role, is now transitioning to batteries and other storage technologies.” Read more

There is a lot to unpack in the Albanese government’s Future Gas Strategy, a mind-boggling policy move that seeks to lock the fossil fuel into Australia’s energy and export – and greenhouse gas emissions – mix to 2050 and beyond. Finally, Tim Buckley from Climate Energy Finance says the “gas shortage” narrative being lapped up by the government is “fabricated and fact-free.” “East Australia produces 5 times as much gas as we use domestically, most of it exported and then sold back to us at outrageously inflated prices,” Buckley said on Thursday. “The only winners from the Future Gas Strategy are the multinationals. And the only gas shortage is a shortage of gas cartel ethics, aided and abetted by a government that appears to be suffering a severe case of industry capture.” Read more