ENERGY POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Shorten’s power policy switches

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Nov-16

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg says the Australian Labor Party has changed its stance on energy policy more than 10 times over the last decade. He has criticised the Opposition for adopting a policy of sourcing 50 per cent of Australia’s energy supply from renewable sources by 2030 when it had provided owners of coal-fired power stations with millions of dollars worth of taxpayers’ funds when it was in government. Labor had also given some $A268m worth of free carbon permits to the owners of the Hazelwood power station in Victoria.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ENGIE SA, FRONTIER ECONOMICS PTY LTD, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

No Hazelwood, no energy plan

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jennifer Hewett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 4-Nov-16

The closure of Hazelwood power station will have serious economic consequences for Victoria’s Latrobe Valley region as 750 workers will lose their jobs. Both state and Federal Governments have promised financial assistance, with the latter to provide $A43 million in aid. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews insists that the decision of majority owner Engie to close Hazelwood has nothing to do with the state’s energy policy.

CORPORATES
ENGIE SA, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY COUNCIL, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Global energy expert flags nation’s grid, gas supply as keys to review

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 3-Nov-16

The International Energy Agency has agreed to provide its opinion on Australia’s power generation policy to the Finkel review of energy security. Fatih Birol, the head of the agency, said many countries have problems with intermittent supply of power from renewable sources but none of them experienced an event on the scale of the state-wide blackout which occurred in South Australia in September 2016.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

Power bill shock as RET helps big firms

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Kylar Loussikian, Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Nov-16

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox warns that a sharp rise in the spot price of large-scale generation certificates could result in a 1-2 per cent increase in electricity bills for households and businesses. He attributes the rise in the spot price to concern that growth in renewable energy supply will not be sufficient to meet the Federal Government’s Renewable Energy Target. This requires the proportion of electricity generated by renewables to rise from 12.75 per cent at present to 23.5 per cent by 2020. Some states have more aggressive renewable energy targets.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GREEN ENERGY MARKETS PTY LTD, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY REGULATOR, CLEAN ENERGY COUNCIL LIMITED

Stop point scoring and plan, says industry

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 4-Oct-16

Bruce Mountain of Carbon Market Economics rejects suggestions that the state-wide power outage in South Australia could have been avoided if its coal-fired power plant had not been decommissioned. Meanwhile, Energy Users Association of Australia chairman Brian Morris has urged both sides of federal politics to co-operate in developing a national energy policy. A similar view has been expressed by Tony Wood of the Grattan Institute.

CORPORATES
CARBON MARKET ECONOMICS PTY LTD, ENERGY USERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI

SA crisis: PM demands cut to renewable targets

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Primrose Riordan, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 30-Sep-16

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has used the blackout in South Australia (SA) to stress the need for a new national renewables target. He said on 29 September 2016 that the Labor state governments of SA, Queensland and Victoria adopted targets that are "extremely unrealistic". Queensland has a renewable target of 50 per cent, while the current level of renewables is only about 4.5 per cent. Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said the matter will be discussed at an upcoming meeting of state energy ministers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

Glenn McGrath bowls into carbon farming

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 13-Nov-15

The Clean Energy Regulator has granted $A557 million to 131 carbon reduction projects via the second auction from the Emissions Reduction Fund. Former cricketer Glenn McGrath is among the recipients of funding. He has agreed to grow trees on his rural property in north-west New South Wales to offset carbon emissions. Wesfarmers, Consolidated Pastoral Company, AGL Energy and Pacific National are among bigger recipients of funding for carbon reduction programs.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY REGULATOR, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, CONSOLIDATED PASTORAL COMPANY PTY LTD, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, PACIFIC NATIONAL PTY LTD, CLIMATE FRIENDLY PTY LTD, REPUTEX AUSTRALIA PACIFIC PTY LTD

Cheap permits an option for emitters

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1&8 : 12-Aug-15

The Australian Government has announced a plan to cut emissions by 26 per cent to 28 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on 11 August 2015 that the Government did not abandon the idea of allowing Australian companies to trade in international permits. This option will be reconsidered in 2017-18 or later.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SNOWY HYDRO LIMITED, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, CLIMATE INSTITUTE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Rio pushes for nuclear power in energy debate

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 20 : 2-Dec-14

Submissions have been lodged with the Australian Government’s new energy white paper taskforce. Rio Tinto argues that nuclear power should not automatically be ruled out as an option for the nation as it seeks to curb its greenhouse gas emissions. Fellow uranium producer BHP Billiton says in order for Australia to cash in on the growing demand for energy worldwide, local labour market laws must be relaxed to boost productivity. Others to make submissions are ANZ Banking, Peabody Energy and Qantas Airways

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, PEABODY ENERGY AUSTRALIA COAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

No power without real reform

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 6 : 10-Nov-14

The Business Council of Australia (BCA) has prepared a study on energy policy, in a lobbying effort as the Federal Government takes submissions for a new white paper on the topic. The BCA argues that rising energy prices are jeopardising the nation’s global competitiveness in the resources sector. Prime Minister Tony Abbott recently commented that he wants Australia to be an "affordable-energy super power", as part of the Government’s industry and competitiveness agenda

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP