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OP ED | Future Made in Australia Act puts country in global cleantech race
The Australian
The Act could be 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.
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ABC Drive Illawarra | A Uniquely Australian Opportunity
ABC Radio
We need to get on the bandwagon or get left behind. The transition is happening. The world is moving on. If we don’t move with everyone, Australia will languish and stagnate. So what’s in this plan? Founder and director of Climate Energy Finance Tim Buckley is here. G’day, Tim.
Good afternoon Jake.
So how would you describe this plan in simple terms?
This plan. is definitely Australia’s uniquely Australian response to the US Inflation Reduction Act. Without doubt.
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What overcapacity? China says its industries are simply more competitive
Reuters
As Yellen laid out plans to formalise dialogue with China over excess industrial capacity in electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels and batteries, saying Washington would not accept U.S. industry being “decimated”, the Chinese finance ministry issued a statement saying it had already “fully responded” to her concerns.
One industry where global demand does not keep up with Chinese production, though, is solar.
Xuyang Dong, China energy policy analyst at Climate Energy Finance in Sydney, estimates China’s wafer, cell and module capacity coming online in 2024 is sufficient to meet annual global demand now through to 2032.
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BusinessToday | What Overcapacity? China Says Its Industries Are Simply More Competitive
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In 2023, China’s exports of the “new three” totalled 1.06 trillion yuan ($146.6 billion), up 29.9% year-on-year, official data showed. But they accounted for only 4.5% of China’s total yuan-denominated exports last year, so those on Beijing’s side of the debate see the West’s focus on them as hypocritical.
Xuyang Dong, China energy policy analyst at Climate Energy Finance in Sydney, estimates China’s wafer, cell and module capacity coming online in 2024 is sufficient to meet annual global demand now through to 2032.
(This is also republished on Business World)
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Explainer: China’s dominance in wind turbine manufacturing
Reuters
China has by far the world’s biggest wind turbine production capacity, or 60% of 163 gigawatts (GW) in 2023, says Brussels-based industry association Global Wind Energy Council. China exported about $1.42 billion of turbines and components to the EU last year. The situation in China’s wind turbine sector is similar to that in the solar sector, with massive domestic capacity increases underpinned by extensive government support, said Xuyang Dong, China energy policy analyst at Climate Energy Finance in Sydney. “With a domestic supply glut and world leading technology, China will increasingly seek to export turbines.”
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China solar industry faces shakeout, but rock-bottom prices to persist
Reuters
Consolidation in China’s crowded solar power sector is pushing smaller players out of the market, but excess production capacity – with more on the way – threatens to keep global prices low for years.
“Many non-solar companies in China have been enticed by massive sustained market growth opportunities in solar and favourable policy support,” said Dong of Climate Energy Finance, who expects most plans by such players not to materialise.
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EU launches 2 probes into China solar manufacturers
The Financial Times (UK)
Xuyang Dong of Climate Energy Finance, an Australian think-tank, said that “China’s estimated wafer, cell and module capacity that will come online in 2024 is sufficient to meet annual global demand now through to 2032. This shows an immense domestic solar production oversupply, which has resulted in price slump in solar components”.
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“We’re not trying to compete with China:” Why Australia’s Solar Sunshot is not a flight of fancy
Renew Economy
Tim Buckley, the founder and director of Climate Energy Finance, says Solar Sunshot puts Australia in the global cleantech race, while also rebuilding its sovereign manufacturing capabilities and bolstering energy security and economic resilience. “Sunshot and these related initiatives are important steps in a uniquely Australian response to the US Inflation Reduction Act – the $1 trillion “green new deal” that is turbocharging cleantech re-industrialisation in the US and attracting a tidal wave of hundreds of billions of dollars of private capital,” Buckley says.
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New Australian hub to build solar panels
ABC Radio
Roughly $1 billion is being invested in what’s been called the Solar SunShot program — a solar manufacturing hub in New South Wales’ Hunter region, to be built on the site of the former coal-fired Liddell Power Station.
Tim Buckley told ABC Radio that we need to transform the hunter valley and its workforce. Australia has abundant natural resources and capital to transform our economy and grid by using Australia-made solar panels instead of expensive imported diesel fuel from the Middle East.
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China’s solar billionaire feels the heat as sector faces upheaval
The Financial Times (UK)
Longi founder Li Zhenguo is laying off thousands of staff in an industry grappling with oversupply
The solar industry is cyclical, resulting in periods of boom and bust. Analysts have warned that massive job cuts across the industry are inevitable after several years of excessive focus on output rather than on sustainable profits.
Xuyang Dong of Climate Energy Finance, an Australian think-tank, noted that at of the start of this year, China had more than 1,000GW of solar module production capacity in development for domestic and international markets, a far higher amount than current domestic demand. China needs around 280-320GW of new solar capacity a year until 2030 to reach its dual carbon targets.
“The amount of money saved by laying off staff is insufficient compared to the 40-50 per cent decline in prices in the market over the last 12 months,” she said.
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VIDEO| Is China the New Superpower?
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On the Planet A podcast dive into the world of renewable energy and decarbonization with Tim Buckley, Director of Climate Energy Finance – an engaging discussion on the future of energy, global energy markets, and how we are becoming a multi-polar world.
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“打印”出的太阳能电池:这种新技术能否让澳大利亚在光伏领域“突围”?
SBS
In an interview with SBS Chinese, Xuyang Dong, an energy analyst at the independent think tank Climate Energy Finance, explained that China’s large-scale production capabilities enable it to occupy the “most dominant” position in the global new energy supply chain.
“China mass-produces cheap components and then exports cheap, high-quality solar cells.”
Dong believes that the rapid development of China’s photovoltaic industry cannot be separated from strong and clear policy promotion. Although Australia cannot deploy the new energy industry through similar “hard planning”, it can also implement policies to guide industrial development.
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