Electricity/electrification
AGL China Coal Critical minerals Decarbonisation Electricity/electrification Energy crisis Finance Sector & Emissions Hydrogen India & Adani offshore wind Renewables Taxes and subsidies US IRA/EU NZIA et al
Australia backs COP28 renewables, energy efficiency vow
AAP
Climate Energy Finance said the commitment at COP28 by over 100 countries to triple renewables by 2030 – particularly Australia, US, EU, Canada and Japan – was “excellent”.
“Two years ago this would have been seen as next to impossible,” director Tim Buckley said in a statement.
“But with China having transformed the world’s (manufacturing) capability to deliver on decarbonisation, this goal will collectively bend the climate trajectory towards what the science clearly dictates.”
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The new climate denial
The Saturday Paper
Wholesale prices of electricity are down about 50 per cent in the 2023 calendar year, relative to 2022, because the “hyperinflation of gas and coal commodity prices internationally over 2022 has now in 2023 progressively come off [more than] 70 per cent from their peak”, according to Climate Energy Finance director Tim Buckley. The government is being transparent about this, in sharp contrast to Angus Taylor, who, as energy minister in the Morrison government, sat on the relevant report predicting significant price increases in the run-up to the last election.
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MEDIA RELEASE | New report: Chinese Energy Giants’ Investment Flows Supercharge Renewables Revolution in Response to 14th “Five Year Plan”
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CEF’s China energy policy analyst, report lead author Xuyang Dong, tracked investment trends of China’s 5 top State Owned Enterprises, reviewing reporting disclosures and corporate data in the original Chinese. Xuyang Dong said:
“China is decarbonising the world and the Chinese energy SOEs are playing a significant role in this process, as their massive capital expenditure pivot into renewables and cleantech shows. China’s ambition to lead the greening of the world is evident in its energy policies and climate goals, and reflected in energy SOEs’ capex trends, which highlight the possibility of China exceeding its energy goals. ”
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Cop28: where does China stand on coal and renewable energy ahead of the UN climate conference’s tough negotiations?
South China Morning Post
At the 28th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, starting on Thursday, negotiators from around the world will try to thrash out new global commitments to mitigate and adapt to climate change, one of the toughest challenges facing humanity. The world will also be looking to China to signal an intention to put a price on carbon emissions in domestic goods and imports, said Tim Buckley, director at Australia-based think tank Climate Energy Finance. “This would elevate China’s global leadership in all zero-emissions industries of the future and would signal the need for a clear international price on carbon emissions in global trade,” he said.
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VIDEO: Australia moves a step closer to cleaner, greener, brighter future
AusBiz
Tim Buckley, Director of Climate Energy Finance expresses his approval of Energy Federal Minister Chris Bowen’s decision to expand the capacity investment scheme, describing it as a major shift in ambition. He highlights the issue of foreign takeovers of Australian energy companies by firms based in tax havens, viewing this as a loss for taxpayers. However, he points out that companies such as Brookfield’s willingness to invest substantial amounts in renewable energy potentially outweighs this concern.
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Solar module prices may reach $0.10/W by end 2024
PV Magazine
Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, speaks to pv magazine about the current steep trajectory of solar module prices. He estimates that PV panels prices will end up dropping by 40% this year and predicts the closure of old technology and sub-scale solar manufacturing facilities, both in China and globally.
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Tim on ABC 7.30 VIDEO: Capacity Investment Mechanism
ABC 7.30
The Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) is a federal initiative designed to underpin the
deployment of dispatchable renewable energy and storage capacity across Australia, offsetting
any reliability gaps as the country transitions from fossil-fuel based to clean energy and coal
exits the system. It is a central enabler of the federal renewable energy target of 82% by 2030.
The CIS explicitly excludes methane gas peaking power plants.
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The cost of supplying energy has halved, but it’ll be a while before your bills reflect that. This is why
ABC online
“The wholesale cost of electricity has come down more than 50 per cent year on year in [calendar year] 2023 because the hyperinflation of gas and coal commodity prices internationally over 2022 has now in 2023 progressively come off [more than] 70 per cent from their peak,” Climate Energy Finance Director Tim Buckley says.
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FEDERAL ENERGY MINISTER CHRIS BOWEN TURBOCHARGES AUSTRALIA’S MOVE TO 82% RENEWABLES
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Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, today hailed Federal Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s decision to expand the Capacity Investment Scheme to a targeted 32GW, a huge stepchange in ambition.
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OP ED | Australia faces a big challenge to hit green targets
The Australian
CEF partner and advisory board member, Blair Palese, founder of the Climate Capital Forum, makes a powerful case for Australia to step up its transition investment ambition ahead of COP and in light of the US Inflation Reduction Act.
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Brookfield ups the ante on Origin by $1.2bn
FS Sustainability
Origin’s vertical integration business model is key to the Brookfield acquisition bid, according to Tim Buckley. He said that the retail and industrial client base was key to Brookfield both in the Origin bid and in the 2022 bid for AGL led by Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures and Brookfield.
“All of this is predicated on the value of the retail customer base that Origin and AGL have,” Buckley noted. “That customer base is about vertical integration and industrial customers as well.
“The key asset for Origin is they have the best retail technology platform in the world.”
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Albanese’s pittance for critical minerals means Australia’s golden opportunity goes begging
Renew Economy
Our op ed on PM Albanese’s state visit to the US. While the visit was touted as a platform for major announcements on investment into an Australian response to the game-changing Inflation Reduction Act, there was a lot of talk, but only $2bn for Australian critical minerals – entirely insufficient relative to the scale of our opportunity to lead the world in processing of minerals onshore. Read our full analysis.
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