Policy

A new report by Climate Energy Finance has revealed Australia’s diesel Fuel Tax Credit Scheme disincentivises growth in future industries and will cost taxpayers $37 billion (USD 23.8b) in lost tax revenue by 2030. The report also illustrates how capping these rebates represents a multifaceted advantage for Australian manufacturing of low and zero-emission mining vehicles.

BloombergNEF Senior Analyst Jenny Chase and Aurora Energy Research Renewables Lead Rebecca McManus speak with pv magazine about financial market trends for solar companies and the role of overcapacity as a driver of turbulence in the industry.

Gentari, a subsidiary of Malaysian state-owned oil company Petronas, plans to build between 5 GW to 8 GW of solar, wind and battery projects in Australia by 2030. The ambition follows its acquisition and rebranding of Wirsol Energy, which marked the Malaysian company’s entry into the Australian renewable energy market.

New digital modelling technology has made visible 10 GW of untapped capacity in Australia’s existing electricity networks. “That 10 GW number is probably achievable without any meaningful incremental cost investment,” Neara cofounder Jack Curtis tells pv magazine Australia. “This is something that’s really only come into awareness of policy makers, and even the private sector, in past six months.”

Researchers in Australia have provided a series of recommendations to set up regulatory frameworks for PV module recycling and reuse. They said that, as a rule of thumb, landfill bans, tracking of the panels’ serial numbers, and a clear definition of ownership should always be included in the legislation for end-of-life solar products.

A short report explaining upcoming challenges and solutions to electricity security has been published by the Australian Academy of Technology Sciences and Engineering (ATSE). The report calls for more investment to meet government targets and to keep consumer prices down.

The first of 400 planned community batteries has now come online in the Sydney district of Reid as per a promise Labor made while in opposition. The 412 kWh battery is sorting power from 50 households with rooftop solar and sharing electricity with approximately 150 households.

Western Australia has signed an agreement to bolster its relationship with Indonesia around critical minerals and clean energy manufacturing – with both regions among the world’s leading producers for particular minerals.

New South Wales has increased its coal royalty scheme for the first time since 2009 in a move that is expected to boost the state’s budget by more than $2.7 billion (USD 1.72b) from 2024 to 2028.

Joe Biden’s surreptitiously-named Inflation Reduction Act has been described as the world’s biggest piece of climate change legislation, as big in its impact as the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Scott Hamilton and Joanna Kay argue Australia must act now to keep capital and talent onshore.