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The New South Wales government will announce within days that it will extend the operations of Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station for as long as four more years. “They are responding to the demands of the fossil fuel sector,” said Tim Buckley, head of Climate Energy Finance, who has compiled reports on how NSW can retain a reliable power system without Eraring. “They will be using taxpayer funds to crowd out private capital” that would otherwise be investing in renewable energy, he said. In March, Buckley estimated that keeping the power station operating could cost the government as much as $150m a year for just two of its four units. Read more

Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/b8bde0b5-7484-45bf-a1e0-475a3ac91bd6 Despite auto market pressures, China’s slowing economic growth and western trade protectionism there are no signs that BYD is rethinking its plans for global expansion. Management at BYD, which already exports cars to more than 70 countries, has told investors that they believe they can increase overseas sales from nearly 250,000 cars in 2023 to between 2mn-3mn cars in the coming years, reflecting around 10 per cent of the market, excluding Europe and the US. “They are strategically farsighted,” says Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, an Australian think-tank. “They don’t have the myopic short-termism of western capitalism.”  Read more

The opportunities are enormous for Australia, says Tim Buckley, a director at think-tank Climate Energy Finance in Sydney. “Australia has always been a lucky country. We are blessed. We supply half of the world’s iron ore and lithium. We also have the best wind and solar resources in the world,” he says. Potentially, Australia could not only export the raw minerals and materials needed for the green transition, but also do the value-added processing, Buckley suggests. However, that hinges on international collaboration with key partners, including China, which not only has the best technology when it comes to solar, but is also the biggest buyer of critical raw materials from Australia. “As the buyer, they want a lower price. We’ve got a disproportionate power relationship,” says Buckley. “China’s got the value-add. Australia needs to reset the bar.” Read more

Where China once built an industry from Australian innovation, Australia now needs China’s help to do the same. To build low-cost panels at scale, experts say Australia needs access to the production line technology and manufacturing patents China has developed over the past 20 years. “I see manufacturing [intellectual property] as a challenge but also an opportunity,” Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, said. “This is a way of enhancing collaboration with China.” Read more

A group of seven Australian renewable energy industry organisations and investment bodies has called on the government to stay the course on the Future Made in Australia Act (FMAA) and back it with targeted budgetary commitments to leverage a “once-in-a century” decarbonisation opportunity. The Clean Energy Investor Group (CEIG), Clean Energy Council (CEC), Rewiring Australia, Smart Energy Council (SEC), Beyond Zero Emissions, Climate Energy Finance (CEF), and Climate Capital Forum have stood as one to show their support for the recently announced initiative that is designed to build local industries focusing on the clean energy transition. Read more

In a show of unity, Australia’s leading energy industry players and investment groups have thrown their weight behind Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s landmark ‘Future Made in Australia’ initiative. Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, urged the government to “hold its nerve and deliver an ambitious and coordinated package of budget incentives”, enabling Australia to pivot from its historic over-dependence on fossil fuels to a zero-emissions global trade and investment leader. Read more

Australian Associated Press – Clean energy companies and investors called on the federal government to “hold its nerve” and deliver an ambitious and coordinated package of budget incentives to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. In a joint statement, they urged Treasurer Jim Chalmers to use the May budget to encourage investment, as rival economies throw trillions of dollars into renewable energy and clean tech to secure their national interests. “We urge the government to hold its nerve and deliver an ambitious and coordinated package of budget incentives,” Mr Buckley said. Read more

Responding to criticism of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Made in Australia Act, a group of energy and finance leaders joined forces on Thursday to call for the scale of budget support required for decarbonisation. Australia could not afford to “sit out” the accelerating global transition and needed taxpayer support to unlock the private capital needed for zero-emissions economic opportunities, they said. Read more

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Nishtha Aggarwal, an analyst at the independent think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF), has roundly criticised Australia’s big four banks for touting sustainability rhetoric without following through with meaningful action. “Trumpeting climate action based on the low-hanging fruit of financing minimally green-rated buildings is not enough, and leaves them open to accusation of greenwashing,” said Aggarwal. “They must put ‘their’ money where their mouth is.” An analysis of the major banks’ sustainable finance target (SFT) allocation to date found that a massive 44 per cent of funding was allocated to green buildings. Read more

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. Read more

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.” Read more