D26 Electricity Supply

Solar already Australia’s largest source of electricity as rooftop capacity hits 20GW, consultancy says

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Original article by Peter Hannam
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 1-Mar-23

Solar energy consulting firm SunWiz says Australia now boasts the world’s highest penetration of rooftop solar panels, which are now installed on nearly one in every three homes nationwide. Queensland has the highest penetration of solar panels, at 82 per cent, followed by South Australia (78 per cent) and New South Wales (51 per cent). SunWiz’s data shows that rooftop solar capacity now totals 20 gigawatts nationwide. SunWiz estimates that it took about 11 years for the first 10GW of capacity to be installed, while the second 10GW took just four years. Green Energy Markets recently estimated that the next 10GW will take just over three years to be installed.

CORPORATES
SUNWIZ PTY LTD, GREEN ENERGY MARKETS PTY LTD

Disappointing year for hydrogen fuel investors

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 10-Jan-23

Bernstein Research claims that 2022 was a "disappointing year" for investors in hydrogen fuel and the broader clean energy sector, due to rising interest rates and supply chain problems. Bernstein Research did note that global demand for hydrogen grew by five per cent to 95 million tonnes a year in 2022, but that only 0.1 per cent was green hydrogen made from renewables. It noted strong policy support for green hydrogen in countries such as the US and China, while sales of hydrogen fuel cell cars were strong in China, but weak elsewhere.

CORPORATES
BERNSTEIN RESEARCH

Renewables break records but lag target

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 14 : 4-Jan-23

New data shows that renewable energy’s share of the National Electricity Market reached a record high of 40.4 per cent in the December quarter. In contrast, coal-fired power generation fell to a record low of 55.5 per cent during the period. However, the rate of growth for renewables slowed from 21.6 per cent in 2021 to just 16.6 per cent in 2022. Dylan McConnell from the University of NSW says this rate of growth will need to almost double in order to achieve the federal government’s renewable energy target of 82 per cent by 2030.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Tech titan wins AGL board fight

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 16-Nov-22

AGL Energy’s shareholders have endorsed the appointment of all four of Grok Ventures’ nominations for the company’s board. Software entrepreneur Mike Cannon-Brookes became AGL’s largest shareholder earlier in 2022 via his private company. AGL will now have a nine-person board of directors, prompting fund management veteran and AGL shareholder Geoff Wilson to suggest that changes to the board are likely. However, AGL chair Patricia McKenzie has ruled out stepping down. Meanwhile, more than 25 per cent of shareholders voted against AGL’s remuneration report, putting the company at risk of a board spill if there is a similar backlash at its 2023 AGM.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, GROK VENTURES

Nuclear energy must be part of the conversation

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Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 17 : 28-Oct-22

BHP’s chief technical officer Laura Tyler has told a business forum that Australia needs to consider adding nuclear power to the nation’s energy mix. She has highlighted the potential for nuclear energy to provide baseload power, but acknowledged that Australia is still "having the conversation" about nuclear at a political level. Meanwhile, Zen Energy chairman Raymond Spencer cautioned against government over-intervention in energy markets, in the wake of the Victorian government’s plans to directly invest in renewable energy.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, ZEN ENERGY PTY LTD

No time to lose in race to supply hydrogen

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 20-Sep-22

McKinsey’s global head of hydrogen Bernd Heid says Australia has the potential to become a major exporter of hydrogen, although he says it has "no time to lose" if it wants to achieve this potential. His comments came as French company Engie become the first firm in Australia to commit to the construction of an ‘industrial-scale’ greeh hydrogen project, while McKinsey is forecasting that hydrogen in all its forms will meet around 22 per cent of global energy demand by 2050, with hydrogen to replace fossil fuels in sectors such as steel and fertilisers.

CORPORATES
McKINSEY AND COMPANY

No time to lose in race to supply hydrogen

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 20-Sep-22

McKinsey’s global head of hydrogen Bernd Heid says Australia has the potential to become a major exporter of hydrogen, although he says it has "no time to lose" if it wants to achieve this potential. His comments came as French company Engie become the first firm in Australia to commit to the construction of an ‘industrial-scale’ greeh hydrogen project, while McKinsey is forecasting that hydrogen in all its forms will meet around 22 per cent of global energy demand by 2050, with hydrogen to replace fossil fuels in sectors such as steel and fertilisers.

CORPORATES
McKINSEY AND COMPANY

Energy markets tipped to return to normal as NSW granted emergency powers to secure coal supplies

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Original article by Peter Hannam, Benita Kolovos
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 17-Jun-22

Former Energy Security Board chair Kerry Schott has backed the Australian Energy Market Operator’s unprecedented decision to temporarily suspend wholesale electricity trading. Schott believes that the suspension will remain in place for no more than a week, given that coal-fired generation units in several states are coming back online and the cold weather on the east coast is easing. The AEMO has advised that its forecast for reserve supply conditions had improved across all national energy market regions; however, the AEMO cautions that it is too soon to determine when the market will resume normal operations.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

AGL in crisis as split founders

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 15 : 30-May-22

AGL Energy’s board is expected to issue a formal statement on its proposed demerger before the market opens on Monday. There is growing speculation that AGL is set to abandon the demerger and will consider alternative options, amid pressure from major shareholder Mike Cannon-Brookes. The future of CEO Graeme Hunt and chairman Peter Botten is also uncertain, and they were both said to be considering their positions on Sunday. Cannon-Brookes’ private company Grok Ventures intends to seek two seats on AGL’s board if the demerger does not proceed.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, GROK VENTURES

Cannon-Brookes bid doesn’t add up, says AGL chief

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 23-Feb-22

AGL Energy’s CEO Graeme Hunt says a $5bn takeover offer "extremely undervalues" the electricity generator and retailer. He says Brookfield Asset Management and Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes are seeking to buy AGL at a "ridiculously low premium". Hunt has also questioned the bidders’ proposal to fast-track the closure of AGL’s coal-fired power stations, and their claims that this would have no appreciable impact on electricity prices. Meanwhile, former Energy Security Board chair Kerry Schott contends that there would be insufficient grounds for the federal government to intervene and block the deal.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC, ENERGY SECURITY BOARD