Media

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

As Tim Buckley says, AEMO’s new Electricity Statement of Opportunities demonstrates yet again that state and federal governments must move to expedite planned transmission projects, utility and distributed renewable energy generation, and storage, and that notably, any risks to supply can be adequately addressed by renewable energy transition initiatives currently underway. Read more

“We need to level the playing field by pricing in carbon emissions; that is the key policy required before Green Hydrogen development will really scale up,” said Tim Buckley, director of think tank Climate Energy Finance. Read more

“Eighty per cent of the gas in eastern Australia is used by the gas industry itself for export purposes,” Mr Buckley said. “So the idea that we’re running out of gas is a deliberate political misinformation campaign by the gas industry so they can make even more money.” Read more

Tim Buckley says Origin is simply bowing to the inevitable by shutting Eraring seven years ahead of schedule in August 2025. He says not only is Eraring one of the most exposed power plants to volatile coal prices — if not the most — it is also among the hardest hit by the influx of renewable energy on the system. This is because Eraring — like all ageing coal-fired power plants — needs to run more or less flat out around the clock. But amid a flood of green power — particularly during the middle of the day when solar output was highest — it was having to run despite the daily cratering of prices. “If I go and flood the NSW market with a shedload of solar, that’s going to gut Eraring, it’s going to gut Bayswater because they have zero flexibility,” Buckley says. It was not designed to be flexible. Read more

Tim Buckley from Climate Energy Finance says using taxpayer subsidies to extend the life of Eraring would be “a massive retrograde step,” when what is needed is the exact opposite – an accelerated transition to firmed renewables. Read more

“Leaked reports today that the NSW Electricity Supply and Reliability Review will recommend taxpayer subsidies to extend the life of Eraring coal power station beyond its closure date phased over 2025 would be a massive retrograde step when the exact opposite is needed – implementation of an accelerated transition to firmed renewables, Mr Buckley, who wrote the The Lights will Stay On report, said. Read more

It comes as clean energy investors and the former NSW energy minister Matt Kean blasted the proposal to keep Eraring open beyond 2025. Simon Corbell, the chief executive of the Clean Energy Investor Group, said delaying the closure of Eraring would create “significant downside risk for investors”. “This could result in less investment in new clean energy projects in NSW and will blow out our emissions target and budget. Australia cannot afford to have that at this time,” he said. Read more

Eraring is Australia’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, releasing more than 12 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent into the atmosphere each year. Tim Buckley, director of think tank Climate Energy Finance, says keeping the plant running would be a “massive retrograde step”. Read more

Environmental activists point out that paying hundreds of millions of dollars a year to keep Eraring open is not needed, and that two reports – including “The Lights Will Stay On” by the Climate Energy Finance and “Earing can be closed on schedule” by Nexa Advisory – outline why and how Eraring should close on time. Read more

Clean energy investors said delaying the closure of the generator could crimp new investment in new clean energy projects and blow out Australia’s emissions target and budget. “Australia cannot afford to have that at this time,” said Simon Corbell, chief executive of the Clean Energy Investor Group, representing investors with about 11 gigawatts of installed renewables capacity. Read more