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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

Tim Buckley is director of Climate Energy Finance, a public interest think tank. He said more action could be taken to further lower energy prices in the meantime. Buckley suggested some ways that electricity bills could be lowered while also helping Australia achieve its necessary net zero targets. For example, he mentioned induction cooktops and water heaters and these aspects can really reduce the cost of living pressure and permanently alleviate these problems through accelerated deployment. That means getting away from the high, expensive methane gas that Australia has been addicted to for the last 30, 40, 50 years. Buckley believes there must be a coordinated government campaign to help consumers get through this cost-of-living crisis. Read more

Many Australians could see a reduction in their energy bill prices, according to an announcement made by the Australian Energy Regulator. Yet despite the highly anticipated relief for households, experts say the government could be doing more to lower energy costs during the transition period to cleaner energy. Read more

Australian energy consumers risk benefiting from only a marginal fall in their electricity bills, despite a big plunge in wholesale electricity prices caused by the growth of renewables, and rooftop solar PV in particular. The Australian Energy Regulator on Tuesday released its draft proposals for what is known as the Default Market Offer for 2024/25. Read more

Sydney Ausgrid electricity consumers will see 3 per cent retail price declines for the new financial year starting 1 July 2024 under the Default Market Offer (DMO) draft ruling from the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) this morning, and small and medium enterprise (SME) customers a much more significant decline of 10 per cent. The default market offer is a maximum price that retailers are allowed to charge. Read more

After two years of hefty increases… it looks like the price of power for consumers in the eastern states is set to drop. The Australian Energy Regulator has today released its draft decision on the nation’s main consumer price caps which are known as “default market offers”. It’s recommended the maximum retailers can charge drop by between one and ten per cent, depending on where you live and whether your bill is for a small business or private residence. Read more

On the Planet A podcast dive into the world of renewable energy and decarbonization with Tim Buckley, Director of Climate Energy Finance – an engaging discussion on the future of energy, global energy markets, and how we are becoming a multi-polar world. Read more

Tim Buckley, the director of the independent think tank Climate Energy Finance, said the opposition’s nuclear energy solution is about delay, which he views as the “new denialism.” “We’ve got this pure hypothetical political spin about waiting for 20 years for SMRs. We can’t afford to wait,” he told The Canberra Times. “We have a climate crisis. We have a cost-of-living crisis now. What this is all about is sowing disinformation and delay. It’s climate science denialism. Read more