Hey Reader, in today's edition: Data centres' love for renewables Call for energy R&D National coordination on fuel Data centres lining up for renewables contracts ‘Way ahead of you’, is the message from data centre operators to the government, after Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres this week laid out his list of expectations for the data industry, including that it support the energy transition by investing in renewable energy. Craig Scroggie, chief executive of NEXTDC, the...
2 days ago • 8 min read
Hey Reader, in today's edition: Gas gap shrinks again A tale of two smelters Cleaning up energy misinformation Electrification and batteries ease gas squeeze again Expected shortfalls in peak day and annual supply of gas have again been postponed in the market operator’s latest Gas Statement of Opportunities (GSOO). The 2026 GSOO does not take into account the federal government's yet-to-be finalised plan to reserve export gas for domestic usage, or current global liquefied natural gas...
3 days ago • 8 min read
Hey Reader, welcome to The Energy's weekly data newsletter. This week we explore what's needed to ensure data centres are given the opportunity to improve their current PR problem and help the energy transition. Beyond expectations The federal government’s new ‘Expectations of data centres and AI infrastructure developers’ are just that: expectations. They’re not new energy rules, but rather “signals” that would need to be implemented through the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council...
4 days ago • 4 min read
Hey Reader, in today's edition: A chance to step up national security IEA advice Data centres divide It's all about national security As Australians queue to pay soaring prices for petrol and diesel, energy transition expert Elizabeth Thurbon says they should ask themselves a simple question: why has China spent the past 15 years building the world’s largest renewable energy system? It’s not about climate change, it’s about national security. And yet, writes Thurbon, Australia doesn’t need to...
5 days ago • 9 min read
Hey Reader, in today's edition: Last hurrah for networks? Crisis offers cover for polluter pays levy Spanish blackout findings Victorian networks in $2.9 billion tussle with regulator Arm wrestling with the regulator is par for the course for regulated network businesses, but the latest tussle between Victoria’s distribution and transmission monopolies comes at a particularly testing time. Staring down a highly-electrified system and a data centre boom (albeit one with bubble-like traits),...
6 days ago • 10 min read
Hey Reader, welcome to The Energy Week, your chance to catch up on this week's most important energy news. Prefer to listen? Get The Energy Week on your favourite podcast platform. THE ENERGY WEEK • EPISODE 23 Energy prices look resilient 07:13 MORE INFO This week's top energy news Oil settled above US$100 a barrel this week as combatants in the Iran war set their sights on energy infrastructure and analysts braced for long-term impacts. Israeli missiles struck Iran’s South Pars gas field,...
8 days ago • 9 min read
Hey Reader, in today's edition: New-look DMO Carrying the can for stranded gas Never waste a crisis New DMO benefits small business Energy analysts and consumer groups have cautiously welcomed the Australian Energy Regulator’s draft Default Market Offer pricing matrix, which has different breakdowns for time of use or fixed tariffs, and also includes new pricing for the government’s upcoming Solar Sharer Offer of three hours free electricity up to a maximum of 24kWh during the middle of the...
9 days ago • 9 min read
Hey Reader, in today's edition: DMO mark II What's killing innovation Offshore wind upside How the DMO will be different this year When the competition regulator recommended the Default Market Offer (DMO) in 2019, it was meant to be a safety net to ‘unreasonably high prices’ facing energy consumers who can’t or don’t shop around. Now in its 8th year, the DMO is undergoing important changes to its purpose and formulation. Later today we’ll hear the headline number, but as Justice and Equity...
10 days ago • 10 min read
Hey Reader, welcome to The Energy's weekly data newsletter. This week we explore what the Iran war might mean for gas and electricity prices. Alert not alarmed The media is full of stories about worsening petrol and diesel shortages, as you would expect during a war that has closed a vital sea trade route for oil and gas — the Strait of Hormuz. But gas — which still plays a vital role in heating homes in the southeastern states in winter and in firming wind and solar energy during those...
11 days ago • 6 min read