Finance

In a bid to boost the state’s economy and create jobs amid the Covid-19 crisis, the New South Wales government will accelerate the assessment of 24 projects, including the $4.6 billion Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro storage project.

A major new report finds there is a pathway to zero emissions for every major economic sector in Australia. Over 18 months in the making, Decarbonisation Futures offers fresh ideas for how Australia can embrace the zero-emissions future that is visible on the other side of the pandemic, writes Amandine Denis-Ryan of ClimateWorks Australia.

Australia’s leader, Scott Morrison, and several of his ministers, including the Minister for Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor, try at every opportunity to push more homegrown gas into the country’s energy mix. With global gas at rock-bottom prices, they’re now touting a gas-led recovery. What’s right and wrong with this picture?

The New South Wales government has amended legislation to allow for larger-scale solar systems to be installed on homes and commercial buildings without council approval and to facilitate the installation of utility-scale batteries.

Analyzing its fleet of solar sites, Solar Analytics has found that energy consumption in households due to Covid-19 confinement is up only slightly, if at all. While this is good news, the great news is that the onsite consumption of free solar power in these households is up significantly.

In the five weeks between subsidy step-down being announced and implemented under the $100 million Home Battery Scheme, more than 5,000 subsidies were approved.

The Covid-19 pandemic will create a “perfect storm” for the wholesale electricity market as lower demand comes together with lower gas prices and large-scale solar and wind being commissioned to depress power prices, finds a report by Melbourne-based consultancy RepuTex.

The pandemic will postpone or cancel the financial close of some 3 GW of solar and wind in Australia, according to Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy, as the falling Australian dollar renders projects uneconomical. The biggest loser among the states will be New South Wales.

To achieve the goal of ‘H2 under $2’, ARENA has opened the $70 million Renewable Hydrogen Deployment Funding Round for expression of interest from large scale renewable hydrogen projects.

The Sustainable Australia Fund is launching special financing terms for the solar industry to mediate the impact of Covid-19. The terms seek to put immediate cash savings in the hands of businesses.