Media

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

Tim Buckley said: “Application approvals of new zero-emissions replacement capacity in FY2023 trebled to 7 gigawatts (GW) vs the previous two years, but we are still not seeing grid transmission and planning access bottlenecks removed. There is a record 30GW of new renewable energy capacity now in the connection pipeline, but just 3GW was completed in FY2023. We need to see the rate of completions double to replace end-of-life coal power station capacity inevitably and predictably coming offline.” Read more

AEMO reports the June quarter wholesale electricity prices are down 59 per cent year-on-year. That is a major relief after 18 months of unprecedented fossil fuel hyperinflation,” Tim Buckley said. Read more

CEF’s report into NSW’s energy transition last week recommended the state use social housing and other government-owned buildings to build a steady pipeline of solar-panel “power plants”. Report author Tim Buckley said solar could replace half of the capacity lost when NSW coal-fired power stations Eraring and Vales Point retire in 2025 and 2029 respectively. “It requires next to no grid upgrades, so no cost-of-living pressure, and it can be done really bloody quickly.” Read more

Tim Buckley, director of think tank Climate Energy Finance, said the lack of funding for communities in the REZ had divided people. “We just have to make sure that the communities most affected get some ongoing benefit to ameliorate some of that anxiety and spread the love around,” he said. Read more

As the coal lobby argues for Eraring’s life to be extended beyond 2025, Tim Buckley said: keeping Eraring open longer than planned would cost taxpayers between $200 million and $400 million a year in subsidies. He argued the money would be better spent on speeding up the development of renewable energy capacity needed to replace fossil fuels. Read more

Tim Buckley: “There is more than enough new capacity in the pipeline to replace closing coal power stations. It’s a question of whether the NSW bureaucracy is going to actually approve it. We have seen a little bit of a lull in new investment decisions. And that’s really coming back to regulatory inertia. The energy minister must place pressure on the bureaucracy to approve renewables faster. We’ve seen batteries have been built in just 12 months once they get to final investment decision.” Read more

Tim Buckley on ABC TV 7pm News responds to the AER’s Wholesale Markets Quarterly Report, noting that there is more than enough renewables capacity in the pipeline to offset coal power closures – it is a matter of whether the NSW bureaucracy is going to approve it in a timely way. Read more

The fossil fuel lobby and certain parts of the media are agitating for an extension of Eraring coal power station beyond 2025 under the pretext that closure must be pushed back to ensure supply and “keep the lights on.” This is a massive furphy and a bad idea. Delay would put power affordability, reliability and security at risk. It would undermine both the NSW government’s climate policy, and the federal government’s 82% by 2030 renewable energy target and its legislated 43% emissions reduction target. Our new report outlines how closure can happen on time – the project pipeline and investment capital are ready and able! Read more

The Lights Will Stay On report released today warns delays to closing Eraring – Australia’s largest coal-fired power station – and the smaller Vales Point would cost the bank and risk the nation’s emissions reduction target, AAP reports. Analysis by Climate Energy Finance’s director, Tim Buckley, finds NSW can close the power stations as planned with slight incentives for solar and wind investment. Read more

The NSW government is being urged to save the estimated $200 million to $400 million annual cost of keeping the state’s largest coal-fired power station open and invest the money in accelerating its clean energy rollout instead. A new report by Tim Buckley of Climate Energy Finance rejects mounting calls by energy customers for Origin Energy’s 2880 megawatt Eraring power station to be kept open beyond its scheduled 2025 closure date. Read more

Eraring Power Station can close on time in 2025 if the NSW government takes steps to accelerate renewable energy projects, a report says. The report, to be released on Tuesday by Climate Energy Finance (CEF) think tank, said there was “no case to delay the planned closure of Eraring”. Read more