RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES – AUSTRALIA

Solar export vision to be put to the test

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 2-Jan-20

The Asian Renewable Energy Hub project in Western Australia is one of a number of large projects that has the potential to make Australia a major solar power exporter. Backed by Macquarie Group, the project will use wind and solar to separate hydrogen from water. As much as 15 gigawatts of wind and solar generation across the East Pilbara will provide up to 12 gigawatts for green hydrogen production and three gigawatts of power for energy users in the Pilbara. Another large project is the $22 billion Sun Cable project, which will export solar power to Singapore via undersea cable.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Paris on radar in green surge

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Original article by Graham Lloyd
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 24-Oct-19

Research by the Australian National University has spent 11 times the global average on renewable energy in recent years. The researcher conclude that the nation will be able to meet its Paris emissions reduction targets without needing to use Kyoto carryover credits if this level of investment is sustained. The ANU researchers also forecast that Australia’s carbon emissions will fall by 3-4 per cent between 2020 and 2022 as a result of the investment in renewables.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Renewables power ahead

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 29-Mar-19

According to Green Energy Markets, renewable energy generated 128 per cent more electricity than gas turbines over the 2018-19 summer and 23 per cent more than brown-coal generators. It was the fourth summer during which renewables have provided more electricity than gas and the second summer that renewables generated more electricity than brown coal. The output from solar between 9am and 5pm exceeded output from brown coal and gas for the first time.

CORPORATES
GREEN ENERGY MARKETS PTY LTD

Policy vacuum won’t stop green power: energy chief

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 11-Jan-19

Wind turbine supplier Vestas Australia enjoyed a record year for orders in 2018, with over one gigawatt of wind turbines ordered in total. Peter Cowling, the head of Vestas Australia, predicts that the renewable energy sector will "muddle through" the lack of federal policy on climate and energy, due to the desire by companies to purchase clean power and the "cost competiveness" of solar and wind energy. Cowling says state governments’ renewable energy programs are helping to make up for a lack of federal policy.

CORPORATES
VESTAS – AUSTRALIAN WIND TECHNOLOGY PTY LTD

ALP’s $2000 handout in battery plan

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 22-Nov-18

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will announce key details of Labor’s energy policy on 22 November. Amongst other things, Labor will provide households with annual income of less than $180,000 with a rebate of up to $2,000 to install electricity storage batteries. Labor’s aim is for one million households to have storage batteries by 2025, as part of its commitment to a 50 per cent renewable energy target. Labor will also flag plans to implement the federal government’s national energy guarantee if it wins the next election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

CBA to turn fully green by 2030

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 14-Nov-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia aims to source 65 per cent of its electricity requirements from renewable sources by 2019, with a target date of 2030 for becoming solely reliant on renewables. As part of this strategy, CBA has secured a 12-year deal to source 96,000 megawatts annually from the Sapphire wind farm. CBA estimates that its direct emissions have been cut by 54 per cent since 2009. The bank will also become the first Australian company to join the global RE100 initiative, whose members have agreed to fully transition to renewables by 2050.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, RE100, CWP RENEWABLES, PARTNERS GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE CLIMATE GROUP, CDP, SONY CORPORATION, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, LYFT INCORPORATED, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY

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

Keep coal burning for long term

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 17-Jul-18

The Australian Energy Market Operator has urged against the premature closure of coal-fired power stations, saying they should remain operating for as long as possible before being replaced by renewable energy sources. AEMO stated that this will ensure stability in the national energy market, as well as providing energy at low cost. AEMO notes that 30 per cent of the NEM’s current coal resources are due to reach the end of their technical life within the next two decades. The federal government will try to convince the states and territories to adopt its National Energy Guarantee at a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments’ energy council in August.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Renewables generate 19pc of grid already

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 6-Jul-18

Renewable energy was responsible for just under 19 per cent of National Electricity Market generation in the year to June 2018, according to the Australia Institute. The figure includes rooftop solar generation, or 15.7 per cent if rooftop solar generation is not included. The Australia Institute claims that new solar and wind generation that is being built or committed to under the federal government’s Renewable Energy Target and the Victorian government’s RET would be sufficient for the former to meet its 2030 emissions target without the need for a National Energy Guarantee.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED, REPUTEX AUSTRALIA PACIFIC PTY LTD, GREEN ENERGY MARKETS PTY LTD

Renewables rush a risk to industry

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 15-Jun-18

Large electricity users are concerned about the impact of the Federal Government’s national energy guarantee on baseload power supply. Tomago Aluminium CEO Matt Howell argues that some industrial users require competitively priced baseload power around the clock, which renewables cannot guarantee without reliable storage technology. Resources Minister Matt Canavan says coal is still the best option for supplying cheap and reliable baseload power, and he warns that coal would no longer be competitive under Labor’s carbon emissions policy.

CORPORATES
TOMAGO ALUMINIUM COMPANY PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MANUFACTURING AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, CSR LIMITED – ASX CSR, DULUXGROUP LIMITED – ASX DLX, BRICKWORKS LIMITED – ASX BKW, ADELAIDE BRIGHTON LIMITED – ASX ABC, CEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RHEEM AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TESLA INCORPORATED, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL