RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES – GOVERNMENT POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Australia ‘must commit to one emission target’

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 4 : 25-Oct-17

The Australian Greens have welcomed the release of a Productivity Commission report which advocates the adoption of a carbon price. The commission has also recommended the introduction of a national renewable energy target rather than having separate state-based schemes. It argues that a national approach would make it easier for Australia to meet its emission reduction target under the Paris agreement and do more to encourage investment in new power generation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ALP’s $200 power bill shock

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Oct-17

Labor has stated that it will seek to have 50 per cent of electricity produced from renewable sources by 2030. It will also seek to reduce carbon emissions by 45 per cent. However, modelling by the Climate Change Authority has concluded that achieving its 50 per cent target would increase the average household’s power bill by $A200 a year, as well as requiring 17,000 megawatts of coal-fired power generation to be taken out of the National Electricity Market. Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has claimed Labor is trying to conceal the cost of its energy policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. CLIMATE CHANGE AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Scale back Paris emissions commitment, reformers urge

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 11-Oct-17

The Federal Government ruled out withdrawing from the Paris climate change agreement in June, but Gary Banks of the Melbourne Institute and former government adviser Fred Hilmer say it should reduce back the nation’s commitment to the agreement. Banks, the former chairman of the Productivity Commission, has expressed concern about the likely economic impact of Australia’s renewable energy target. Banks and Hilmer have also questioned whether there has been adequate analysis and modelling of the Government’s energy policy.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS AUSTRALIA

Rethink on clean energy target

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Oct-17

There appears to be a growing view within the Federal Government that a clean energy target, as recommended by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, is no longer required. This is because the cost of renewable energy is falling more quickly than previously forecast, with the cost of battery technology expected to fall by more than 70 per cent in the period to 2030. Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg is expected to express these sentiments concerning the CET when he gives the keynote address at an energy summit.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

No changes to RET in power supply overhaul

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Sep-17

The Federal Government is expected to retain the renewable energy target in its current form, due to the prospect of any changes being rejected by the Senate and concern that further changes could create sovereign risk for investors. However, the Government is expected to announce that the RET will not apply to new projects from 2020. Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has been criticised in parliament over his claim that the average Sydney household’s electricity bill has risen by $A1,000 since the Coalition was elected in 2013.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, ENERGY CONSUMERS AUSTRALIA, BAECONOMICS PTY LTD, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST

PM’s new baseload plan

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Sep-17

The Federal Government has advised that its energy policy will have a focus on affordable and reliable baseload electric power generation, rather than a clean energy target. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has indicated that Australia could meet its 2030 emissions reductions targets while retaining coal as part of the energy mix. He also says AGL Energy’s plan to replace the 1,000 megawatts of baseload generation of its Liddell power station cannot include renewable energy, arguing that they are not baseload. AGL has been given 90 days to develop a plan to replace the ageing power station’s output.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

World builds coal plants faster than they shut

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 13-Sep-17

Analysis by the federal parliamentary library shows that 621 new coal-fired power generation units are under construction worldwide, including 299 in China. Countries with nuclear power generation, such as Japan, are also building new coal-fired power plants. National Party senator John Williams argues that transitioning to renewable energy in Australia will have no impact on global greenhouse gas emissions, as the new coal-fired power plants under construction overseas will generate more emissions than the nation as a whole.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF PARLIAMENTARY SERVICES. PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY

Nationals rally against energy plan

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 7 : 11-Sep-17

The National Party’s federal council has passed a motion opposing a clean energy target. The same motion called for Australia’s renewable energy target to be set at 23 per cent in 2020, and for there to be no subsidisation of any energy source after that date. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg are set to meet AGL Energy CEO Andy Vesey over the future of AGL’s Liddell coal-fired power plant. AGL wants to close it in 2022, but the Federal Government wants AGL to sell the plant.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Cut power prices or ‘firms will go bust’

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Original article by Matt Chambers, Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Aug-17

Glencore executive Peter Freyberg has called for a national energy policy that exempts heavy industry from carbon emission targets. He has warned that government intervention is needed to ensure that the rising cost of electricity does not make such industries economically unviable in Australia. Amongst other things, Freyberg says federal and state renewable energy targets should be scrapped, while he has questioned whether a clean energy target – as recommended by the Finkel review – would be sufficient to combat climate change without other measures.

CORPORATES
GLENCORE PLC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, MANUFACTURING AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, BRICKWORKS LIMITED – ASX BKW, CSR LIMITED – ASX CSR, RHEEM AUSTRALIA LIMITED, DULUXGROUP LIMITED – ASX DLX, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Set energy target or feel price pain: gas boss

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 11-Jul-17

EnergyAustralia has urged the Federal Government to introduce a clean energy target within 12 months. This would allow the company to proceed with two gas-fired power stations in New South Wales. EnergyAustralia says the two plants would help offset the loss of the output from AGL Energy’s Liddell coal-fired power station, which is slated to close in 2022. However, EnergyAustralia warns that there is a limited time-frame to commence these projects, as gas-fired power stations typically take three years to build.

CORPORATES
ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, CLP HOLDINGS LIMITED, ALCOA OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY