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John Menadue Public Policy Journal: I joined a large audience in the North Sydney electorate on 4 April at a community forum that Kylea Tink called on “The future of our environment”. The message I took home was that the climate crisis is more urgent than ever. Its impacts are increasingly obvious. Roughly 90 percent of the mining industry in this country is foreign-owned. Not surprisingly, when last year was a year of record profits, it was also a year of record lobbying action. Tim Buckley, Director of Climate Energy Finance, told the Sydney Morning Herald that profits from the export of $240 billion fossil fuels in 2022 led companies to “fund their lobbying efforts to delay climate action and protect their profits”. Read more

Extending the operation of Eraring power station beyond its planned closure in 2025 would cost NSW taxpayers between $120million-$150million a year, a report has estimated. The independent think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF) report recommends the phased closure of the plant over 2025 with complete closure by the end of first quarter 2026. Read more

A delay in the closure of the massive Eraring coal fired power station in NSW could cost up to $150 million a year in taxpayer funds, and would be “unconscionable” given the massive handouts and windfalls enjoyed by its owner Origin Energy, according to a new report. The 2.88 gigawatt (GW) Eraring power plant – the biggest in the country – is slated for complete closure in August 2025, but the NSW government is worried the state will be at risk of blackouts or price hikes if it does actually close at that time. The new analysis from Climate Energy Finance says there will be no reliability gap, and the costs of keeping the plant open will equate to more than six times what NSW has spent in the past four years electrifying and solarising social housing. Read more

New South Wales may end up paying $150m a year to subsidise the extension of Australia’s biggest coal-fired power plant, money better spent accelerating the take-up of rooftop solar with storage, the energy analyst Tim Buckley has said. Read more

For Climate Energy Finance’s latest report on Eraring we reviewed available data to estimate that to keep all four generation units of Eraring open beyond 2025, NSW electricity users would bear the brunt of yet another coal subsidy of a minimum $120-150 million (USD 78.3-97.99 million) annually. NSW consumers are already funding Origin an estimated $468 million, since the government introduced measures in December 2022 to cap the price generators would pay for coal, a response to fossil fuel hyperinflation resulting from sanctions on Russian exports after its invasion of Ukraine. This represents nearly half-a-billion dollars of public money already sunk into the energy giant. Read more

NSW taxpayers could be on the hook for as much as $150 million a year for every year the Eraring coal-fired power plant remains open, energy analysts predict, with the Minns government refusing to detail the terms of its negotiations with owner Origin Energy ahead of a likely extension beyond 2025. Read more

In Canberra Times via AAP and syndicated to 100+ mastheads: Origin Energy has been in talks with the state government to extend the life of its Eraring plant, located south of Newcastle, after a review warned the scheduled 2025 closure would result in electricity shortfalls and price hikes. NSW officials are yet to confirm how long the plant’s life could be extended or how much it will cost. But analysis by independent think-tank Climate Energy Finance, released on Thursday, found keeping the plant open past 2025 could cost between $120 million and $150 million per year, paid to Origin to subsidise the extension. Read more

Extending the lifespan of NSW’s largest coal-fired power station would cost taxpayers between $120m-$150m a year, a report from a renewable energy think tank has concluded. Read more

“[Gautam] Adani continues to walk both sides of the street,” said Tim Buckley, director of Sydney-based think tank Climate Energy Finance. The Adani Group is not only one of the largest developers and operators of coal mines in India, but also operates the controversial Carmichael Coal Mine in Australia, which has faced fierce opposition from climate change campaigners who say it is a “death sentence” for the Great Barrier Reef. “Rather than ploughing billions into new fossil fuel projects, India would be far better served if Adani put 100% of its efforts and resources into developing low-cost zero emissions technologies,” Buckley added. Read more

Boards of banks and fossil fuel companies often share independent, non-executive directors. But with the need to transition to a lower carbon economy, experts are concerned about how these connections may be affecting progress. Tim Buckley comments for The Banker supplement in FT. Read more

Recent blackout crisis in Victoria is caused by a decade of inaction by the Coalition government in addressing climate and energy policy. The blackout was caused by storm damage to power lines, leading to the shutdown of coal-fired generators, which contributed to a third of the state’s power supply being lost. Tim Buckley argues that a lack of investment in transitioning the grid to renewable energy sources, such as rooftop solar and battery storage, has left the energy system vulnerable to such crises. Urging for a shift towards decentralized, decarbonized, and renewable energy solutions, the article emphasizes the need for state and federal cooperation and investment in a modern, resilient energy grid. Read more

Tim Buckley breaks down the COALition’s attempt to kill the renewables revolution by sowing disinformation and dissent in the community as the rest of the world rapidly decarbonises Read more