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.
Australia’s grid could handle a huge leap in renewable power by 2025
Australia's main electricity grid will be able to accommodate up to 75 per cent renewable energy as soon as 2025, a higher share delivered sooner than the most optimistic previous assessments.
Green light for Qld-NSW power link upgrade Hydro, gas supplies to cost more, renewables less
The cost to build new supplies of pumped hydro, transmission and gas generation has soared while batteries have fallen sharply under revised estimates by the national electricity operator as it finalises the long-term design of the power grid.
Record $310m to ‘rescue the grid’
Green light for Qld-NSW power link upgrade The emergency costs of rescuing Australia’s power grid soared to an all-time record after the South Australian and Victorian interconnector failed over the summer, while electricity and gas prices fell to a four-year low amid lower demand.Green light for Qld-NSW power link upgrade
A critical $220 million upgrade of an interconnector power cable between Queensland and NSW will come online about 18 months early, beefing up supply security for Australia's biggest economy ahead of the closure of AGL Energy's Liddell coal power generator.
Measures taken won’t stop bills from jumping
Cassandra Goldie, chief executive of peak welfare lobby group the Australian Council of Social Service, said it was "incumbent on companies who are providing essential services to put people first [and] to provide relief and a level of comfort during this uncertain and unprecedented period".
China locks in steel rebound
China’s industrial heartland is edging back to normality, with crude steel production up to pre-coronavirus levels according to one market forecaster, as key commodity prices and exports underpin Australia’s coronavirus economy.
Oil demand projected to decline by record amount
Global oil demand will fall by a record-breaking amount this year, with government-implemented lockdowns aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus having brought mobility “almost to a halt,” the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday.
Gas giants ExxonMobil, Woodside pause exploration as oil crash, coronavirus hit
Energy giants have frozen exploration work in two of Australia’s most prolific gas basins as the industry cuts costs amid tumbling oil prices and falling demand from the coronavirus pandemic.
Renewables trapped in the oil wreck
Australia now needs to manage a glut of cheap renewable electricity as oil and power prices plummet.
Coronavirus lockdown slams electricity prices
Power demand in Australia’s national electricity market will fall by the most on record over April and May due to the COVID-19 shutdown, cutting electricity prices and rendering high-cost coal generators uneconomic, consultancy RepuTex said.
AGL firm about gas import plant as prices fall
Power giant AGL Energy says the energy price crash will not dampen its appetite for developing Australia’s first gas import plant, with market volatility likely to eventually subside, leaving a looming supply shortfall forecast for the nation’s east coast.
Oil prices sink to 18-year low
Global oil benchmark Brent crude plunged to its cheapest in almost 18 years overnight and US crude briefly tumbled below $US20 per barrel on growing fears the global coronavirus shutdown could last months and demand for fuel will decline further.
How electricity use will track the success of the coming lockdown
Electricity is the heartbeat of a modern economy. Our electricity heartbeat increases when the country is hard at work, and slows when we are at rest.
Aus Gov: ‘We Expect Energy Companies To Keep Their Customers Connected’
The Australian Energy Regulator has issued a set of expectations for energy companies, which aims to ensure that households and small business customers are protected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rio smelters feeling the heat
The outlook for Rio Tinto’s Australian aluminium smelters remains uncertain, with Rio boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques identifying the smelters’ carbon footprint as an additional barrier to keeping them open.
Emissions strategy to look beyond renewables to ‘next challenges’
The government's plan to use technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will look beyond wind and solar energy to the "next challenges", including hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, and methane produced by livestock.
The market will sort out our emission targets
Sometimes the misery of opposition traps politicians in a rictus of perturbation and panic.
Australia’s first detailed database on household solar, batteries and EVs goes live
The Australian Energy Market Operator will this weekend launch the nation’s first detailed database on distributed energy resources, as it prepares for a not-too-distant future grid that will source up to half of all its power needs from consumer-owned sources like rooftop solar.
South Australia separates from NEM, again, as interconnector troubles return
Australia has been re-syncronised with the rest of the National Electricity Market and power flow has been restored via the Heywood terminal.
The Next Renewable Energy Source Could Be Rain
The quest for the next source of renewable energy is well under way, with no natural phenomenon overlooked. We have already harnessed the power of flowing water, wind, and sunlight, and the search for the next clean source of energy is far from over.
Gas in reserve ‘key to cutting prices’
Australia’s big energy users are still paying high prices for domestic gas supplies, triggering ¬renewed calls from Centre ¬Alliance senator Rex Patrick for a reservation scheme to be rolled out on the east coast.
Victoria sidesteps slow reforms to boost transmission
Energy users have voiced alarm at the Victorian government's move to push ahead unilaterally to boost transmission and storage to shore up its power grid, saying consumers will pay through higher prices and increased risks.
Renewables save the day in interstate energy crisis
A key section of the nation’s energy infrastructure has been restored after the storm-affected interconnector between South Australia and Victoria was turned back on this week following the successful installation of temporary transmission towers.
Record low demand for grid power strains system
Solar-rich South Australia has set a new record low for electricity demand from the grid but the renewables-dominated state still had the highest average prices in the December quarter as it struggled to meet soaring demand as summer weather took hold.
Virtue signalling as the nation burns
Greenies who back costly renewables over workable nuclear energy are doing more than anyone to keep coal in business.
Victoria slashes grid outage risk with record demand response uptake
Record customer participation in electricity demand response initiatives has cut the risk of network outages in Victoria and delivered more than half a million dollars to those taking part, new data shows.
Australia’s coal and gas plants are breaking down every three days
Australia’s ageing fleet of coal and gas-fired power plants are becoming increasingly unreliable and inefficient, suffering break downs at least twice a week on average, a new report has found.
Power bill threat as renewable energy spending plummets
Congestion woes in Australia’s power grid threaten to hike household electricity bills and derail the nation’s ability to achieve deeper cuts to carbon emissions following a collapse in renewable energy spending, Queensland government-owned investment giant QIC has warned.