The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has briefed the National Party MPs on its recommendation to prematurely wind down taxpayer-funded incentives for sub-100kW solar systems by 2021.

A data center, which will be used for crypto and Bitcoin mining, will be powered by a combination of solar power generated at an adjacent 20 MW solar PV farm and coal-fired generator.

Mixed messages have emerged from today’s COAG Energy Ministers’ meeting today, after what was meant to have been a decisive meeting for the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) policy measure. Fundamental opposition from some Labor states remain, however an agreement to release the draft legislation was reached – after it passes the test of the coalition party room.

Amid the intense discussion surrounding the National Energy Guarantee’s promise to cut power bills by $550 a year, Australia’s biggest power producer has reported its full year profit almost trebled, and its underlying profit rose by nearly a third.

As the debate heats up in the run up to Friday’s COAG meeting, the Victorian government has issued a last-minute call to redraft the proposed National Energy Guarantee (NEG), and the Australian Capital Territory has redefined its NEG approval conditions in regard to the emissions target. Meanwhile, Australia’s peak renewable energy bodies have taken opposing positions.

A new report shows that coupling renewable power purchase agreements with demand response, reducing consumption when prices are high, could increase electricity savings on top of those delivered under the PPA by one third.

In the lead up to a COAG energy ministers’s critical meeting this week, a poll conducted by ReachTEL for Greenpeace Australia Pacific shows that over 70% of respondents want an ambitious renewable energy target to drive down electricity prices.

With all eyes on the ACT cabinet, which remains unconvinced of the National Energy Guarantee as a complete policy solution beyond 2020, a new analysis of energy prices shows that ACT household power bills continue to rise. Solar owners, however, are largely insulated from bill shock.

On the back of its large-scale renewable boom, Australia has seen a drop in wholesale electricity prices and a downward emissions trajectory. So, the questions arises: what extra value can the hotly-contested National Energy Guarantee create for Australia’s electricity market beyond 2020? The Energy Security Board has had its final say on the issue.

The Western Australia government has signaled scrapping or winding back subsidies for rooftop solar, while looking for ways to boost battery uptake.