Australia

Resurrected Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce is back in the saddle, facing backwards. His determination to prevent the Morrison Government from adopting a target of net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050 will again delay the renovation of Australia’s climate policy.

The Victorian Government is looking to further offset its controversial electric vehicle tax, setting aside $5 million to fund the expansion of the state’s network of fast chargers.

The contentious two-way pricing reform proposed by the AEMC, dubbed the ‘sun tax’, is based on the understanding that solar is a plaything of the rich. In fact, the inverse may be true, according to a new paper published by the Victoria Energy Policy Centre. But Vinnies’ research manager Gavin Dufty, an instigator of the rule change, told pv magazine Australia such analysis misses the point, branding it ‘myopic’.

The City of Subiaco, an affluent suburb just west of Perth city, has become the first carbon neutral local government in Western Australia certified under the Commonwealth’s Climate Active program.

In a big win for renewables and a big loss for the Morrison Government, the Senate has blocked the Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s attempt to illegally expand the mandate of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to fund non-renewable projects.

A survey of 300 business decision-makers across Australia has found nearly 40% of large businesses and 21% of small to medium enterprises are unhappy with their current energy contracts, with 62% of respondents saying they would be willing to switch.

Tasmania’s port authority has entered into an agreement with Fortescue Future Industries for land and operating access for its proposed 250 MW green hydrogen plant at Bell Bay, in Tasmania’s north.

The Australian Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources is inviting discussion on its newly proposed Guarantee of Origin certification scheme for hydrogen production. The discussion itself however, which is welcomed by hydrogen industry stakeholders, has a long way to go before its methodology works to accurately differentiate hydrogen produced by renewables from other sources.

Perth-based TNG Limited has signed an agreement with Malaysian green hydrogen company AGV Energy which will see its vanadium redox flow batteries integrated into the HySustain project to store solar energy for green hydrogen production.

The Gladstone Energy and Ammonia Project plans to efficiently use available resources and technology to produce low-cost, relatively low-emissions blue hydrogen from coal, and provide a conduit to commercialising true green hydrogen. A federal emissions policy driving toward a net-zero commitment could properly value GEAP’s place in Australia’s energy and export ecosystem.