Policy

Over 70,000 Australian households will install battery storage in 2019, according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). With the nation’s storage demand set to triple, Australia is forecast to make up 30% of global demand this year.

The Australian Labor Party has released a National Hydrogen Plan, which involves directing $1 billion in CEFC funding towards clean hydrogen projects, $100 million in ARENA grants for hydrogen technology refuelling infrastructure, and $40 million from the CEFC’s Innovation Fund to help commercialise new hydrogen technologies and businesses. Looking towards clean energy exports, the plan will provide $3 million in funding to Queensland coal port in Gladstone with the aim of creating a hydrogen hub.

A new report released by The Australia Institute reveals the Senate crossbench has safeguarded $23.4 billion worth of investment in renewable energy from 2013-2018, when it prevented the Coalition Government from abolishing the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, ARENA and slashing the Renewable Energy Target.

The December meeting of the COAG Energy Council has grabbed headlines as NSW attempted to push for a zero-emissions policy only to be blocked by Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor. But, in a rare substantive outcome of the meeting, the energy ministers agreed to develop a national hydrogen strategy.

NSW Energy Minister Don Harwin is tentatively welcomed into the renewable-energy winners’ circle as an acrimonious COAG meeting shows the Federal Government ever more on the outer.

As the dust settles on an imperfect, but still welcome, international agreement thrashed out at COP 24, the chairman of the European Energy Research Alliance has criticized the solar industry for its lack of representation in Katowice.

A survey run by the Clean Energy Council among senior executives, leading with a combined net worth of more than $17 billion, shows that clean energy investment confidence is strong. The majority of companies are looking to put on extra staff in the next year. However, challenges in achieving project grid connection and policy uncertainty are causing great stress in the long run.

Under a new Investment Mandate, the Morrison government has instructed the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) to support the development of a market for firming intermittent sources of renewable energy and to prioritise investments that support “more reliable, 24/7 power“.

Clean-energy advocates have slammed Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s proposal to underwrite investment in new “firm” generation capacity as a “coal-preservation fund”. The first formal outing of the policy appears vague, non-binding, and heading perhaps in the wrong direction.

The federal government has launched a strategy seeking investment to unlock Australia’s potential in lithium-ion battery manufacturing. Noting that the nation’s mineral reserves cover 90% of the elements required in li-ion battery chemistry, the new Austrade report underlines that Australia is well-positioned to become a world leader in this fast growing market.