Plan to bring Australian electricity prices down
The Prime Minister will unveil a new plan to secure Australia’s supply of liquid natural gas and bring down electricity prices when he visits Newcastle on Tuesday.
PM’s pledge to fast track SA-NSW interconnector to deliver cheaper energy
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pledged to fast track a $250 million project that will connect SA and NSW power grids, as part of the country’s COVID-19 recovery plan.
Closing Liddell power plant to have only short-term effects
Closing Liddell power station would lift NSW wholesale power prices by more than a quarter but the effects would decline as more capacity entered the market, according to a leaked report.
Tensions mount with electricity market
Tensions have erupted between the Morrison government and some of the nation’s biggest energy players, after the threat of Commonwealth intervention in the electricity market sparked fresh investor concern over rising sovereign risk amid accusations from Canberra that big power companies had championed high prices.
AGL buys Amaysim energy for $115m
Second-tier electricity retailers face a fight to survive amid a tough regulatory clampdown and bad debts from the COVID-19 pandemic, Amaysim said after selling its energy unit to power giant AGL Energy for $115m.
North West Shelf to Moomba gas pipeline could help end supply debate: Mick McCormack
Mick McCormack, the former boss of APA Group, has called for the Morrison government to back a $6bn transcontinental gas pipeline to ease a projected shortfall and high prices for users on the east coast.
Rooftop solar: W.A. sets new record low for grid demand, two other states set winter lows
The West Australia grid has set a new record low for minimum demand as rooftop solar continues to increase its share of generation, and the government announces it is reshaping solar export tariffs to encourage storage, electric vehicles and west facing solar panels.
‘A shot in the arm:’ Victoria backs clean energy in bid to fuel COVID-19 recovery
Clean energy projects will receive a Victorian government funding boost in the hope of driving the state's battered economy out of the coronavirus downturn and avoiding a slump in wind and solar investment.
Wholesale energy prices fall 46 per cent in the year to September
Almost a year since the Federal Government’s “big stick’” legislation was introduced, wholesale electricity prices have continued to fall.
Renewables take wind out of coal’s sales
Coal generation has fallen to its lowest level for at least 12 years, with the record uptake of wind and solar energy driving wholesale electricity prices to a five-year low.
Queensland warned it will fall short of 50 per cent renewable target
Green energy groups have cast doubt the Queensland government can meet its commitment to provide 50 per cent of the state’s energy from renewable energy sources in 10 years' time.
State blocks exports of onshore gas in quest for cheaper energy, but one project receives exemption
The WA government will block the export of gas to the eastern states and overseas from all future onshore gas projects, except one.
Renewables investors run scared
Investment in renewable energy projects collapsed to its lowest in more than three years in the June quarter and almost halved from earlier in the year as grid connection delays, transmission bottlenecks and unpredictable policy took a toll.
Gas producers baulk at price demands
There are good reasons why suppliers cannot offer long-term natural gas contracts at spot prices which have been temporarily depressed by a market surplus, Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher says.
Coal power plants face early retirement in 20-year grid revamp
Australia’s coal power plants could face early retirement under a 20-year plan to reshape the electricity grid, as the market operator bets on a tripling in rooftop solar and major transmission investment, while emergency government intervention may be needed to avoid a looming gas shortfall.
Rooftop solar’s stunning surge to new records, as Australia installs reach 2.5 million
Australia’s rooftop solar market has defied the disruption caused by Covid-19, setting new installation records in the month of July, and pushing Australia past 2.5 million total rooftop solar installs.
EnergyAustralia jumps over hedge, and gets ready to step on the gas
EnergyAustralia, one of the big three energy “gentailers” in Australia, says its profits in the first half of 2020 fell around 20 per cent because of the fall in wholesale prices and the impact of Covid-19, but it is looking to invest up to 1,000MW of new gas fired generation as part of its efforts to support the transition to renewables.
Locals denied cheap gas in ‘broken market’: Incitec
Record low international gas prices aren’t on offer to major Australian industrial users in new contract negotiations with east coast gas producers, according to Incitec Pivot boss Jeanne Johns, putting jobs at risk and raising fresh threats to Australia’s recovery from the coronavirus.
AEMO warns of risks of delay on transmission
When to press the button on billions of dollars of potential power transmission lines over the next few years will hinge on whether coal power plants close early, smelters stay open and on state policies such as Tasmania's renewable energy target.
Rooftop solar is the biggest generator in the market, but no one is in charge
Australia’s Energy Security Board has called for the establishment of a new body to govern the nation’s huge and booming distributed energy resources market, which already boasts more than 12 gigawatts of rooftop solar across the country.
Department ‘contradicted Santos over cheaper gas’
A fresh spat has broken out over Santos’s promise that gas prices will fall should its $3.6bn Narrabri coal-seam gas project in NSW proceed, with claims the state’s Planning Department contradicted the energy producer by saying the development would not reduce tariffs.
SA Government pushes retailers to use ‘solar sponge’ tariffs to cut household power prices
Electricity retailers and the State Government are facing off over how to implement changes which could save households hundreds of dollars a year.
Grid emissions hit record low, as both coal output and prices plunge
Australia’s main electricity grid achieved a remarkable trifecta in the last three months: The level of greenhouse gas emissions fell to a record low in the June quarter, even as the level of both coal production and wholesale market prices plunged at the same time.
Electricity prices plunge to lowest in five years
Wholesale electricity prices traded at the lowest in five years as the coronavirus lockdown crimped energy demand, especially from businesses in NSW and Queensland.
Geelong set to jump aboard for gas future: Viva
Viva Energy chairman Robert Hill has told shareholders the plan to redevelop the Geelong refinery site into a hub for lower-carbon energy supply – starting with natural gas – will help both secure the future of the site and protect profits against volatile refining margins that are outside its control.
Renewables surge, brown coal dips in NEM shake-up
Renewable power has surged to provide a quarter of Australia's electricity needs over the past year, eating into the dominant market share of black coal power plants, data from the Open National Electricity Market project shows.
High gas prices for long-term east coast contracts persist
Lower long-term oil and gas prices – predicted by global majors BP and Shell – should be good news for domestic gas pricing, but major gas suppliers and retailers are still failing to pass on cheaper rates, say big chemicals companies Incitec Pivot and Qenos.
Australian politics quietly reaches a truce in the climate wars
Hang out the bunting. Release the doves. Australia’s climate policy wars may finally be drawing to a close as the major parties flirt towards a more bipartisan approach to climate and energy policy.
Anthony Albanese bid to end carbon wars between Labor and Morrison government
Anthony Albanese has moved to end the energy and climate wars by abandoning the failed National Energy Guarantee and Clean ¬Energy Target, in a bid to strike a -bipartisan agreement with Scott Morrison and support investment in new power generation.
Big utilities split over delays to key reform that backs battery storage
A major split has emerged among Australia’s big energy utilities over the proposed delay to the introduction of the 5-minute settlement period on electricity markets – a reform deemed critical to encourage battery storage and demand management, lower costs and hasten the clean energy transition.
Nuclear in mix for miners on emissions
Small nuclear reactors, advanced battery technology and more gas-fired power generation must be part of the government’s blueprint to lower emissions, according to the nation’s largest miners and resources companies.
Electricity price reform, but at what cost?
A year ago this week, Australian governments took a hard-nosed position with our retail electricity regulations: they blew most of the system and started over.
$4 gas price ‘ignores realities’, says Exxon head
ExxonMobil's most senior representative in Australia has labelled the setting of a $4 a gigajoule price target by the COVID-19 commission's manufacturing taskforce as "dangerous", saying it ignores the realities of costs of production.
Coal-fired plants hit if aluminium smelter shuts
Marginal NSW coal-fired generators could take a hit if Victoria's Portland aluminium is closed down, analysts have warned, while tipping a power deal to save the smelter is within reach at current market pricing.
AEMO pushes for minimum standards for solar, battery storage and EVs
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has begun its push for new national minimum technical standards for distributed energy systems which would apply to all new installations of rooftop solar systems, household and business battery system, and electric vehicles delivering power to the grid.
Koalas take precedence over proposed $100m wind farm
A $100m wind farm development in Queensland has been rejected by Environment Minister Sussan Ley because of its potential impact on bushfire-ravaged koalas.
Surging renewables, COVID-19 pile more pressure on coal
Australia's renewable energy output is on track to post its sharpest rise on record in the next two years, driving down power prices and intensifying the prospect of early closures of coal-fired power plants across the country.
Energy reform agenda needs to be recharged
Australia's energy policymakers and regulators already had a huge job on their hands to draw up and implement reforms to deliver a cheaper, fairer and lower-emissions power sector for consumers. COVID-19 has turned that into an even bigger challenge.
Forget coal, the new roadmap is a gas guzzler
Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor's long-awaited technology road map released on Thursday is an attempt to end a decade of infighting over the so-called "climate wars".
Carbon cuts to remain voluntary as minister rules out permit scheme
Companies will be encouraged to slash their greenhouse gas emissions below a crucial benchmark in the Morrison government’s $2 billion climate fund without any pressure for mandatory cuts that could put a price on carbon.
Coronavirus crisis slashes energy spending by most on record
The COVID-19 crisis has sparked the biggest fall in global energy investment in history with spending to plummet 20 per cent or $US400bn ($602bn) in 2020 in a move set to derail the shift to renewables, the International Energy Agency said.
Call to avert domino-effect collapse of energy retailers
New rules are urgently being considered to head off the threat of a cascading failure of cash-strapped electricity retailers due to COVID-19 that could lead to less competition between the surviving players and therefore higher bills.
Call to fire up gas to drive recovery
Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor has raised the pressure on state governments to unlock more gas to complement the growth of renewables, as new figures show wind, solar and hydro generation has increased by 54 per cent since 2015.
Rooftop solar installs at record high during Covid-19, but what about leads and sales?
The Coronavirus created a great deal of uncertainty in the Australian solar market. At one point people wondered whether lockdown might prevent solar installations from occurring altogether. We appear to have dodged that bullet, but not unscathed.
States so far ahead of Australia government, it’s as if they are in a different industrial era
Western Australia energy minister Bill Johnston reckons he’s the lucky one. “The good news is that Western Australia doesn’t much care what happens in the NEM (National Electricity Market) … or in the east. We just make our own decisions and get on with it.
Prior notice for power outages in Victoria
Victorians will soon be notified via text message or email of electricity outages before they happen and told if any planned works are cancelled.
Only reliable electricity can give the economic jolt we’ll need
These past few months have taught us many things, including the fact many state government ministers are none too bright.
‘Big stick’ electricity guidelines released
The competition watchdog has released its framework to enforce new “big stick” powers from next month, including taking companies to court or forcing them to divest assets, in a crackdown on energy companies gouging electricity bills.