Analysis

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Data Centres and Energy Demand – What’s Needed?

The growth in data centres brings with it increased energy demands and as a result the use of power has become the number one issue for their operators globally. Australia is seen as a country that will continue to see growth in data centres and Morgan Stanley Research has taken a detailed look at both the anticipated growth in data centres in Australia and what it might mean for our grid. We take a closer look.

BY Carl Kitchen Jun 27 2024

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Green certification key to Government’s climate ambitions

The energy transition is creating surging corporate demand, both domestically and internationally, for renewable electricity. But with growing scrutiny towards greenwashing, it is critical all green electricity claims are verifiable and credible. The Federal Government has designed a policy to perform this function but in recent months the timing of its implementation has come under some doubt. We take a closer look.

BY Rhys Thomas Jun 27 2024

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EPBC Act: Does the Government have its finger on a climate trigger?

The Government’s Nature Positive Plan Reform has reignited the debate on whether Australia should add a climate trigger into our environmental protection laws. This was sparked after the Government announced stage three of the Nature Positive Plan would be focusing on “climate-related reforms, including the interaction between environment and climate laws.” So, what is a climate trigger and why is it such a contentious issue? We take a closer look.

BY Tom Monaghan Jun 06 2024

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Carbon Capture Storage – A viable option for Australia’s future?

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is increasingly being seen as a vital piece to our emissions reduction puzzle, with governments and industry seeing it as viable way to reach Net Zero. Australia currently has 18 CCS projects at various stages of progress, with only one operational - Chevron’s Gorgon Gas Plant in Western Australia, which has been plagued with problems since the start. We take a deep dive into CCS and whether it can be a feasible option for the future.

BY Tom Monaghan May 30 2024

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A peek at community attitudes and awareness towards the energy transition

Recent surveys from KPMG, SEC Newgate and the CSIRO have all provided good insights into the community’s attitude to the changes underway in the grid and the way we generate electricity. They also highlight the level of knowledge of what this involves as well as how overall views on the speed of the transition are being influenced by factors like cost-of-living pressures. We take a look at what they found.

BY Tom Monaghan May 16 2024

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Offshore wind feasibility licenses have been granted – what are the proposals and who’s behind them?

The Federal Government has announced the first proposed offshore wind projects to receive a feasibility licence for development of generation in the Gippsland Offshore Wind Zone. We take a look at the proponents and projects.

BY Australian Energy Council May 02 2024

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Report assesses state of play for SMRs

A recent report by a pro-nuclear UK think tank has shone a light on the challenges needed to be overcome to accelerate the development and rollout of small modular reactors (SMRs) globally. While the sees SMRs playing an important role in helping countries decarbonise and impressive growth out to 2050, it is a little less optimistic than some projections and highlights the uncertainties and key hurdles that need to be dealt with. We take a closer look.

BY Carl Kitchen Apr 26 2024

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Queensland’s pumped hydro plans

In September 2022, then Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced plans to construct two new pumped hydro projects: Borumba Dam – a 2GW facility located in Imbil, 50km west of Noosa, and the Pioneer/Burdekin facility which plans to offer 5GW of storage, located 75km west of McKay. We take a look at pumped hydro and how it can support the energy transition.

BY Tom Monaghan Apr 11 2024

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Gas outlook highlights peaking plant role in transition

Apart from raising some alarm bells over future potential gas shortfalls, the release of the Australian Energy Market Operator’s assessment of gas needs again highlighted the important role gas generation will play in the energy transition. Gas generation is seen increasingly as a “strategic reserve for power system reliability and security” and “will be critical when it runs”. We take a look.

BY Carl Kitchen Apr 04 2024

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Reviewing the Reviews, Part II

The first meeting of the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council (ECMC) for 2024 brought to the fore the extent of change underway in the energy sector. The ECMC’s communique hints at the breadth of reviews and assessments into the energy sector and operations of the National Electricity Market (NEM). It's part of a now long-established pattern. For well over a decade, energy has been at the forefront of policy developments, largely because of the significant changes to our grid. Along with those changes has come a heightened political involvement. With political interest has come a myriad of reviews, assessments and interventions to make the NEM “fit for purpose”. We take a look at the latest ECMC work and the extent of reviews underway.

BY Carl Kitchen Mar 07 2024

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Green schemes: What are they and how are they causing greater inequality?

For the past two decades, state and federal governments have introduced various policies aimed at incentivising households and businesses to be more energy efficient and to support renewable technologies, which are often referred to as ‘green schemes’ or ‘environmental schemes’. While well intentioned, the cost of these schemes are typically passed onto consumers through electricity bills, impacting energy affordability for some users.

BY Tom Monaghan Feb 22 2024

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Port of Hastings decision – what does it mean for electricity planning?

Last month, the Federal Government blocked progress of the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal – Victoria’s flagship offshore wind support project – on the grounds it posed “clearly unacceptable” risks to biodiversity in the Westernport Bay region. The impact of this decision was magnified by the Victorian Government reportedly being unaware that this ruling was coming. We untangle the regulatory process that led to this decision and consider what it means for energy transition planning.

BY Rhys Thomas Feb 08 2024

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Green energy superpower

As Australia undergoes its energy transition, there has been discussion around the country’s potential to establish itself as a ‘green energy superpower’ within a future global green economy. Illustrating this discussion is a recently released report by the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth.

BY Braeden Keen Oct 19 2023

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NEM generation profile 2022-23

The AER’s 2023 State of the Energy Market highlights the generation mix across the NEM as well as emerging trends. We take a look at what key developments occurred in the generation mix and how they impacted price trends throughout the 2022-23 financial year.

BY Australian Energy Council Oct 12 2023

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Cost storm hits UK offshore wind

As Australia prepares for its first offshore wind projects, the leading international market for offshore wind, the UK, has hit some rough seas due to a combination of low strike contract prices being offered under its contract for difference scheme and major increases in overall project costs. Its latest contracts for difference auction price cap was set at GBP44/MWh but resulted in no offshore project proposals. We take a look and consider what is proposed in response to support the UK’s ambitious offshore wind target of 50GW by 2030.

BY Carl Kitchen Oct 05 2023

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Decarbonising aviation – in it for the long haul

Until recently, the aviation sector has avoided policymaker attention – at least as far as carbon reduction policy goes. However, this has started to change with the Federal Government’s recent publication of an Aviation Green Paper, which attempts to navigate the foggy skies of how to align aviation with a net-zero by 2050 future. So what are some of the options, and challenges, for aviation decarbonisation? Here we take a look.

BY Rhys Thomas Sep 28 2023

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Storage across the NEM

In a speech in March this year, AEMC Commissioner Tim Jordan stated “…By AEMO’s current calculations, outlined in the ISP, 61 GW of storage capacity is needed by 2050 under the Step Change scenario. That’s 17 times current levels.” Federal and state governments have announced various policies to stimulate battery investment, but challenges to their development are starting to emerge. Here we take a look at current proposals for storage across the NEM and their implications.

BY Australian Energy Council Sep 28 2023

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The 82 per cent national renewable energy target – where did it come from and how can we get there?

In recent weeks there has been a wave of headlines about Australia’s energy transition – while some preached opportunity, others raised caution. Of particular interest to those inside the energy beltway was whether Australia can reach 82 per cent renewable electricity generation by 2030. In this article, we do a deep dive into how this figure and what obstacles must be overcome for Australia to achieve it.

BY Rhys Thomas Aug 17 2023

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Productivity Commission offers alternative view of the IRA

Almost 12 months since it was passed by the US Congress, the landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has sent shockwaves globally and in turn prompted debate on how Australia should respond. Of note in public commentary was the latest Trade and Assistance Review, released last month by the Productivity Commission which argues that an attempt by Australia to adopt countervailing policy responses would be a step in the wrong direction. We take a closer look at the Productivity Commission's views on how Australia should be responding to the IRA.

BY Braeden Keen Aug 17 2023

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Market assessment highlights evolving market

In late July, the Australian Energy Market Operator published their analysis of the wholesale market for the second quarter of this year. While the media headlines trumpeted price rises of 31 per cent, the report itself paints a much more restrained picture of the state of the market. As the AEC pointed out at the time, the report illustrates a stabilisation when compared with this time last year, with the industry in a much better position heading into winter than it was in 2022.

BY Australian Energy Council Aug 10 2023

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