ENERGY POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Gas cost killing industry, Dow says

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 14-Aug-18

Dow Chemical’s Australian head Louis Vega has urged support for the National Energy Guarantee, while calling on states and territories to allow new gas developments. He hopes both initiatives will put downward pressure on gas prices, warning that some heavy industries may have to shut down if gas prices remain high. Tomago Aluminium, which is the biggest user of energy in Australia, says the life of the nation’s coal-fired power plants need to be extended to help maintain the stability of the national grid.

CORPORATES
DOW CHEMICAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TOMAGO ALUMINIUM COMPANY PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Power firm eyeing coal plant deal

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 14-Aug-18

Former prime minister Tony Abbott says it is by no means certain that the Coalition’s joint party room meeting will endorse the national energy guarantee on 14 August. He says it would be "appalling" if the NEG is approved, warning that it could result in Australia’s "de-industrialisation". Meanwhile, Delta Electricity chairman Trevor St Baker says the company will build a new high-efficiency, low-emissions coal-fired power station if the NEG is endorsed by Coalition MPs. This could be a replacement for the Hazelwood power station in Victoria or a new one at the site of its Vales Point power station in New South Wales.

CORPORATES
DELTA ELECTRICITY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, JBS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TOMAGO ALUMINIUM COMPANY PTY LTD, ALCOA OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

PM pushes coal-friendly NEG plan

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Aug-18

The Federal Government may adopt the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s recommendation to underwrite new dispatchable power generation, which could include coal-fired power. ACCC chairman Rod Sims will brief National Party MPs on the proposal ahead of a joint party room meeting at which the national energy guarantee will be on the agenda. The Labor-led states agreed to allow the NEG to be put to the Coalition’s party room at the recent Council of Australian Governments meeting. However, Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg is resisting their push for any changes to the NEG’s emissions reduction targets to be enacted via regulation rather than legislation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Hydrogen industry to future-proof coal

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 10-Aug-18

Chief Scientist Alan Finkel will make recommendations on the development of a hydrogen energy industry in Australia to federal and state energy ministers. He will advise that the cheapest way to produce hydrogen energy is via the gasification of brown coal. However, the process must involve carbon capture and storage if it is to be a viable source of renewable energy. Finkel’s hydrogen strategy is backed by both the renewable energy and mining sectors. Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable says it could mean a new industry for Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, which has been impacted by the closure of the Hazelwood power station.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

Victoria digs in on bare minimum NEG demands

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 10-Aug-18

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg will meet with his state counterparts on 10 August to discuss ratifying the National Energy Guarantee. Victoria’s Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio says Frydenberg needs to be prepared to compromise with Labor states on the NEG if they are to agree to it. Victoria’s conditions for agreeing to the NEG include that its renewable emission targets will never go backwards and that future targets are to be set every three years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

Shorten calls for states, feds to do NEG deal

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 9-Aug-18

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has urged Labor-led states to support the national energy guarantee at the Council of Australian Governments meeting on 10 August. The Victorian government maintains that the NEG’s carbon emissions reduction target should be subject to regulation rather than legislation, which is the federal government’s preferred approach. The federal Labor party supports the NEG, although it is advocating a higher emissions reduction target than that proposed by the Coalition.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, GETUP LIMITED

MP’s support for coal spot on

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-Aug-18

Whitehaven Coal CEO Paul Flynn has welcomed comments made by Labor MP Meryl Swanson in support of coal-fired power generation using low-emissions technology. Swanson recently toured high energy, low emissions power stations in Japan as part of a bipartisan delegation. Flynn says Australia should consider the construction of such power stations, noting that Japan accounts for about 60 per cent of Whitehaven’s thermal coal exports. However, Labor’s energy spokesman Mark Butler says HELE power stations are expensive to build and they produce more carbon emissions that gas-fired power stations.

CORPORATES
WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, COAL21, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Feds could compromise on NEG target review

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 8-Aug-18

Federal Government sources have indicated that the Coalition may be open to allowing its carbon emissions reduction target to be reviewed earlier than 2024, in order to secure support for the national energy guarantee. Labor wants the emissions target to be reviewed well before this date, and it advocates holding the reviews every three years. Labor also favours allowing the emissions reduction target to be changed via regulation, but the government is refusing to back down on its requirement that changes can only be made via legislation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING

Labor states keep energy plan alive

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Aug-18

Labor-led state governments are unlikely to support the national energy guarantee at the Council of Australian Governments meeting on 10 August. However, the Victorian, Queensland and ACT governments have indicated that they are open to backing the NEG, although they will not make a final decision until after the policy is put to the federal Coalition’s joint party room meeting on 14 August. The NEG’s proposed carbon emissions reduction target remains a key point of contention for Labor at both state and federal level.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Labor split risks killing energy deal

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Original article by Simon Benson, Michael McKenna, Samantha Hutchinson, Michael Owen
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 6-Aug-18

The Labor Environment Action Network says the proposed national energy guarantee should only be supported if there is provision for carbon emissions reduction targets to be increased to match Labor’s own stated targets. Labor’s environmental wing argues that it is in the nation’s interests to resolve the impasse regarding energy policy. However, a Queensland Government source has indicated that it will not support the NEG in its current form, while Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says his state will not back the NEG unless the Federal Government can demonstrate that its own party room will support the policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LABOR ENVIRONMENT ACTION NETWORK, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, GETUP LIMITED, GREENPEACE AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA