Policy

An attempt by the Morrison Government to extend the closure requirement notification for electricity generators from 3.5 years to five years will likely have “limited” impact, says industry observers. Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor announced the move today, requesting that the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) enact the rule change.

The Greens have announced a $6.1 billion plan to boost the uptake of electric vehicles and reestablish auto manufacturing in its previous hub, South Australia.

Photovoltaics can wipe out 4.25 billion tonnes of carbon emissions every year this decade, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Even so, the actions announced so far remain way short of what is needed, with capital flows to fossil fuels still greater than the cash directed toward combating climate change.

The Western Australian Government has announced $1 million in funding for the first phase of a feasibility study into a 600-800MWh battery and green hydrogen industrial hub in the coal town of Collie. The state government has promised the town, which has been powering Western Australia with its two coal mines since the 1880s, a ‘just transition.’ Sunshot Energy, chaired by eminent energy economist Ross Garnaut, is undertaking the study which could deliver a ‘just transition’ to Collie and green ammonia and urea to the agricultural and industrial sectors.

Indra Overland, the head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, tells pv magazine how the Ukraine war is irreversibly changing the global energy landscape, making massive renewables deployment a certainty. But labor issues, equipment shortages, and reliance on Chinese manufacturing remain obstacles.

The Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2022 event has shown the centrality of renewables and green hydrogen in the world’s future energy landscape. pv magazine spoke with the General Director of the International Renewable Energy Agency, Francesco La Camera, about the difficulties of creating a hydrogen economy in the absence of demand. According to him, public support and policies will be crucial to overcoming this challenge.

On Friday, major changes to the regulatory framework surrounding the small-scale renewable energy scheme (SRES), effectively the country’s solar rebate program, will come into force. Pv magazine Australia spoke to Smart Energy Council CEO John Grimes about the changes and how they will impact Australia’s solar players.

The International Renewable Energy Agency’s latest global outlook has spelled out just how ‘woefully’ far the world is from capping temperature rises at 1.5C, and lamented: ‘The stimulus and recovery efforts associated with the pandemic have also proved a missed opportunity.’

Renewables, climate change mitigation, the energy transition and Australia’s economic future were all big losers in Tuesday’s 2022-2023 federal budget. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s budget not only fails to provide direct funding for renewable energy projects but actually continues cuts to important institutions, and moreover proves the Morrison government’s belated 2050 net zero emissions plan was merely lip service prior to last year’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

A standing committee has blocked federal energy minister Angus Taylor’s longstanding attempts to allow ARENA to fund fossil fuel projects, finding it illegal. The ruling came on the same day new analysis found the Morrison government’s fossil fuel subsidies increased 12% in FY22, costing taxpayers a total of $10.5 billion.