Policy

The Federal Energy Minister insists the Australian Energy Market Operator’s market intervention demonstrates that it is “more important than ever to manage the transition and get more energy into the system and more storage and transmission”.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) this afternoon suspended the electricity wholesale spot market in all five of the participating National Electricity Market states, saying it has become “impossible” to operate.

The Queensland government this morning confirmed it will not be changing solar feed in tariffs after Murdoch newspapers claimed a ‘sun tax’ was looming for the state. Meanwhile, New South Wales recommended upping feed in rates for solar households.

Western Australia is set to exit coal-fired power by the end of the decade as state-owned power provider Synergy will close its two remaining coal plants by 2029 in response. Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan said coal was no longer viable due to the high-penetration of solar, particularly rooftop. McGowan also announced a $662 million boost for the coal-town of Collie’s industrial transition and $3.8 billion in statewide renewable investment, with a focus on energy storage.

There is enormous demand for renewables to enter the grid, and for power purchase agreements to make use of them. However, as more renewables feed into the grid at intermittent periods, the risk of “revenue cannibalisation” increases. Swiss consultancy Pexapark’s latest report looks at the “cannibalisation effect” and how the solar PPA market can adapt.

As Australia’s energy crisis deepens with Queensland and NSW again cautioned over potential blackouts in the coming hours, director of the Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Bruce Mountain, told pv magazine Australia commentators have underplayed the extent to which energy generators have exacerbated the emergency. Government intervening to take charge of the energy market is, for him, the most likely outcome as generators withholding capacity increasingly threatens to cause massive losses in state economies.

Selected projects will be awarded a fixed rate under a 20-year contract under the country’s renewable energy certificate (REC) scheme and will sell electricity to local power distributors.

The New South Wales government has announced its single biggest investment yet in renewable energy infrastructure, committing $1.2 billion to fast-track priority transmission and energy storage projects as the energy sector continues its rapid transformation towards a decarbonised and decentralised future.

The New South Wales government has invited registrations of interest from renewable generators, energy storage and network developers, and existing and proposed energy loads, to participate in shaping a renewable energy zone to be established in the Illawarra region on the state’s south coast.

Australian federal and state governments have agreed to a suite of reforms designed to tackle soaring energy prices, including creating a national transition plan to phase out fossil fuels, financing projects to boost the nation’s electricity grid, and progressing designs for a new capacity mechanism.