The world's best thinkers on energy and climate
Australia can meet its 2030 greenhouse emissions target at zero net cost, according to a new analysis of a range of options for the National Electricity Market, write Andrew Blakers, Bin Lu and Matthew Stocks of Australian National University. … [Read more...]
Three researchers from Australian National University have conducted a study into the possibility for new pumped hydro storage capacity in Australia – with remarkable results. They have identified more than enough sites to provide all the energy storage Australia needs for an energy system based on renewables. … [Read more...]
A visit home to Australia is always interesting when it comes to energy and climate reporting in the media, simply because of the controversy around these issues in the country. Australia has been trying to implement meaningful carbon emissions energy policy for nearly a decade and has made little progress. … [Read more...]
It should surprise no one to learn that Elon Musk, a master of promotion, is capturing worldwide media attention Friday for Tesla’s selection as the winning bidder for a project to install “the world’s largest grid-scale battery” in South Australia. … [Read more...]
The blueprint for Australia’s future electricity market released recently by Australia’s chief scientist Alan Finkel pleases some but not all market watchers, writes Fereidoon Sionshansi, publisher of the newsletter EEnergy Informer. For some critics, the real work on climate and energy policy in Australia has still to be done. … [Read more...]
The Australian government has ambitious plans to expand hydropower capacity in Tasmania – and to restrict gas exports so they can be reserved for domestic use. Cle-Anne Gabriel, Lecturer in Sustainability at the University of Queensland, argues these policies are going in the right direction. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Corals on the Great Barrier Reef have bleached again in 2017 as a result of extreme summer temperatures. It’s the fourth such event and the second in as many years, following earlier mass bleachings in 1998, 2002 and 2016. … [Read more...]
Blackouts in South Australia have focused the world’s attention on this state which has lots of renewable energy. South Australia’s government has now unveiled a keenly anticipated new energy plan, with the aim of making itself more self-sufficient. Hugh Saddler of the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy at Australian National University explains what it is about. Courtesy of The Conversation. Against the backdrop of repeated crises such … [Read more...]
Australia, which already has the highest solar PV concentration in the world but still relies heavily on fossil fuels, can move to a zero-emission electricity system while keeping prices low, writes Paul Graham, Chief Economist at CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation). Courtesy The Conversation. Australia’s low-cost electricity, thanks to cheap coal, was once a source of substantial competitive advantage. While … [Read more...]
Leading investment bank Morgan Stanley believes the Australian energy market is seriously underestimating the grow of solar and battery storage, and says the technology will be installed at rates four times quicker than the incumbent energy industry expects. In a new detailed report, Asia Insight: Solar and batteries, Morgan Stanley expects the market for battery storage to grow from about 2,000 Australian homes now to one million by 2020. But … [Read more...]
First-time visitors to Australia are often drawn to the big city attractions of Sydney and Melbourne or the fabulous beaches of Queensland’s Gold Coast. I’ve always had a soft spot for Adelaide in South Australia, a city built more on a human scale, where downtown can be easily navigated on bike, foot or tram. For me, Adelaide’s greatest attraction is a huge market right in the city’s centre. When I first visited Adelaide in 1993, I met Mike … [Read more...]
South Australia is making progress in its effort to profitably address an issue that has slowed nuclear energy’s growth prospects for more than 40 years. On May 9th South Australian premier Jay Weatherill released the final version of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission report that had been briefed to him on May 6. The report is the result of a 14-month process of evidence gathering, hearings, public meetings, report drafting, and … [Read more...]
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on IHS and trade press Australia's Gorgon project, one of the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in the world, shipped its first cargo last week to Japan. Located on Barrow Island off the coast of northwestern Australia, the project includes a domestic natural gas plant, a carbon dioxide injection project, and an LNG export facility. Its three liquefaction units, also known as … [Read more...]
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