|
Hey Reader, welcome to The Energy.
In today's edition:
- Rule maker gets behind WDRM
- Thinking confidently about flex
- Indigenous Australians leading on energy
|
|
|
|
Wholesale demand response mechanism lives on
The Australian Energy Market Commission recommended continuing the wholesale demand response mechanism (WDRM), which pays electricity users like factories for reducing consumption during peak demand period.
The energy market rule maker also recommended an assessment of whether sites with multiple connection points should be allowed to participate in the mechanism.
Rule initiator the Justice and Equity Centre welcomed the draft report. Submissions are due August 14.
|
Expert view
“The most important aspect of the draft decision is the AEMC's acknowledgement WDRM performs a unique and essential role, and their commitment to retain and improve it as a necessary feature of the energy market.
This builds on a recent burst of activity by AEMO in a similar vein, with a doubling of capacity participating in the mechanism and more to come.
This commitment might seem like a no brainer, but when the Commission made its decision in 2019 to implement our proposed demand response mechanism, it took the unusual step of describing it as a temporary or transitional mechanism that would eventually be replaced by a "two-sided market" (now know as IPRR) where retailers take care of the demand side.
This had the unintentional but unsurprising effect of threatening the success of the mechanism; why would demand response aggregators commit to participating in a scheme that might be cancelled?
In today's decision though, the commission has made clear that the WDRM delivers wholesale demand response, the IPRR offers different benefits, and the two will co-exist to maximise the benefits of flexible demand.”
|
Craig Memery
Senior Adviser, Energy & Water Justice, Justice and Equity Centre
|
|
Thinking confidently about flex
Aussie Craig Evans, the “chief do-er” at a New Zealand energy industry body called FlexForum, crossed the ditch to share insights on how their members are figuring out what demand flexibility looks like and how to hurdle technical, commercial and social barriers.
Speaking at the ANU Centre for Energy Systems, Evans said FlexForum came about because like-minded people in the electricity sector wanted to see less talk and more walk, or doing, on faster progress in distributed resources, consumer resources, and electrification. The group, incorporated in 2023, includes distributors, retailers, generators, metering companies, EV charging businesses, software companies, a couple of universities, and some particularly keen individuals.
The objective was to make it easier for households, businesses and communities to realise the value of their distributed or flexible assets. A system that works for actual people and integrates their resources means that life’s easier for them and power ends up being more affordable, more reliable and more resilient, Evans explained.
“It was a case of not ‘someone should’ but ‘we will. And if you’ve got a big job to do, it helps to have a list. … It was developed from the point of view of a human making decisions about being flexible, including recognising most people would not say that. Most people would not turn up and say ‘I would like to be more flexible in my energy use’.” - FlexForum Chief Do-er Craig Evans
The group’s Flexibility Plan 2.0 lists dozens of steps, each involving a task which is intended to deliver an output – a capability, process or practice – to make it easier and more routine for people to do.
|
Leading energy and social change
First Nations-led development of large clean energy projects in the Pilbara stands in stark contrast to the treatment of Indigenous Australians in previous waves of development in the region, Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation CEO Michael Woodley explains.
In the first transformation of the Pilbara, when it was carved up into pastoral leases, First Nations Australians were treated as slave labour, Woodley told The Energy.
When a lease was transferred, as well as asking about the size of the property and the number of stock, those looking to take over the lease would also ask how many Aboriginal people were on the station to do the work.
Then, when the iron ore mining boom came along starting in the 1960s, Aboriginal people didn’t get a look-in until the 1990s.
But the push for decarbonisation in the Pilbara has provided an opportunity for Indigenous Australians to be “not only taking part in it but being seen as leaders,” he said, on the cusp of a new wind and solar project that will dwarf its Jindi solar farm.
|
|
|
|
Catch up
Capital
|
Companies are unlikely to make multi-year investment decisions based on what could be a transitory copper tariff, according to a Benchmark market analysis. The US imports the majority of its copper from Chile, Canada, and Mexico, and the short-term effect of the tariff will be to drive up prices for American manufacturers that consume refined copper, who will need to pay a 50% premium to the global market for their imports. Confirming the scale and revealing the rationale:
“I am announcing a 50% TARIFF on Copper, effective August 1, 2025, after receiving a robust NATIONAL SECURITY ASSESSMENT. Copper is necessary for Semiconductors, Aircraft, Ships, Ammunition, Data Centers, Lithium-ion Batteries, Radar Systems, Missile Defense Systems, and even, Hypersonic Weapons, of which we are building many. Copper is the second most used material by the Department of Defense! - US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social The Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI) welcomed the competition watchdog’s authorisation of its work on blended finance products, which can mobilise private investment in areas where public benefit is high but commercial viability remains a challenge.
WA Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael marked the official opening of Liontown Resources’ (ASX: LTR) Kathleen Valley lithium mine, which has deals in place with leading EV and battery manufacturers including Tesla, Ford, LG Energy Solution and Beijing Sinomine. “We are working with industry to ensure WA remains a global leader in the lithium-ion battery supply chain, with our Lithium Industry Support Program helping the sector navigate global market fluctuations,” he said.
 Projects
|
Two days of legal argument on the validity of the acceptance by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) of the Environmental Plan (EP) for Woodside Energy’s (ASX: WDS) Scarborough Gas Project will begin on Monday in the Federal Court in Melbourne. Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) initiated legal proceedings in April, asking the court to set aside NOPSEMA’s decision.
“DEA will contend that Woodside’s proposed controls in this EP are so vague and uncertain that NOPSEMA did not meet its own tests for whether an EP can be approved. Controls placed on offshore gas projects are critical in managing impacts on our environment and community … If government agencies fail to meet their own legal standards in their assessments, it is incumbent upon civil organisations like DEA to hold them to account.” - DEA Executive Director Kate Wylie
Labor MP Dan Repachouli issued a Community Update on Facebook about the stink from Snowy Hydro’s Kurri Gas Plant Commissioning, with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) now investigating the odour and the health concerns that have been raised. (Renew Economy)
Policy
|
The estimated benefits of integrating Consumer Energy Resources (CER) are vast but realising these benefits is not a given. Nor has Australia yet implemented a common set of arrangements and standards on data and devices. On behalf of energy ministers, the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has opened consultation on two parts of the CER Roadmap:
WindLab’s Executive Director, Grid, Rahul Victor shared the Clean Energy Council’s submission to AEMO’s Electricity Network Options Report, which zeroed in on how the NSW South-West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) could accelerate the transition and reduce the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) to NSW consumers. It contains some of NSW’s highest-quality wind resources, with capacity factors of 40-45%, offering some of the lowest levelised costs of wind energy in the state. According to CEC members, the region also presents minimal environmental impact given existing land clearance, enjoys strong community support, and is subject to limited social-license risk. Despite these advantages, around 31GW of projects in the planning system were unable to secure access rights.
“It is worth noting that the focus of CEC’s members is about unlocking transmission capacity from N5 South-West REZ into the Sydney-Newcastle-Wollongong load centre. It is less critical to unlock transfer capacity into South Australia (as it is not forecast to be common for NSW to export large amounts of wind capacity to South Australia).” - Director Market, Investment and Grid Christiaan Zuur
Regulation
|
The Indigenous Governance Forum held in Melbourne put the spotlight on two‑way governance, which brings together Indigenous and Western systems as a way to rebuild trust in financial, government and other organisations. Hosted by the Governance Institute of Australia, the event recognised governance as more than structures and systems, rather it’s about leadership, legitimacy, and the power of communities to decide their own futures.
Technology
|
Nanotechnology is making waves in the clean tech space and could give the United States a rare lead over China in photovoltaic innovation. A collaboration between UbiQD and First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) comes as the US seeks to rapidly expand power generation capacity to serve demand from data centres, artificial intelligence and manufacturing. (WSJ)
Meanwhile power density has become a critical metric for data centre operators in a world where some graphics cards designed for AI workloads consume more power at peak usage than the average household. (EnergyTech)
Climate
|
Speaking to ABC Radio’s Pacific Beat from the Marshall Islands, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the Pacific remained “extremely supportive” of the bid to co-host the COP31 international climate talks in 2026.
“There's never been a COP in the Pacific which is the region with the most at stake, we would argue, in climate change … We think the Pacific has a huge amount to bring to the table. Australia as COP President would ensure that the Pacific's issues are front and centre of the agenda with a big spotlight on them. You won't get that in other COPs around the world. You certainly won't get that in Turkiye, with all due respect, you won't get that in Brazil, nor do they claim to. That is something that can only be delivered in Australia.” - Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen
People
|
Queensland Commissioner for Electrical Safety Keith McKenzie was reappointed for a further three years.
Fortescue head of decarbonisation, Christiaan Heyning has stepped stepped down in another loss of key staff from Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest's green team. Heyning departed in May but the move was only reported this week.
Research
|
Further investments in LNG exports are incompatible with a liveable climate, according to Oil Change International’s report with Greenpeace USA and Earthworks. They used a model from the US Department of Energy to analyse the climate impacts of five major planned LNG export projects: Venture Global CP2, Cameron LNG Phase II, Sabine Pass Stage V, Cheniere Corpus Christi LNG Midscale 8-9, and Freeport LNG Expansion. Each one was found to fail the “climate test”, meaning that they would add to global warming and add to the risk of failure on emission reduction targets.
|
|
|
|
What's on
July 14
State of Energy Research Conference 2025
Climate Change Authority Chair Matt Kean, NEM Review Chair Tim Nelson, and ANU Professor of Engineering Kylie Catchpole headline this Sydney event.
July 17
Battery Recycling and Manufacturing Summit
NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe, Battery Stewardship Council CEO Libby Chaplin, CSIRO Senior Principal Research Scientist Manufacturing Dr Adam Best, and Ecocycle CEO Doug Rowe are among the speakers at this Sydney event.
July 17-18
Carbon Capture APAC Summit
Chevron General Manager of Energy Transition David Fallon, Beach Energy CEO Brett Woods, CarbonNet Project Director Jane Burton, Geoscience Director of Offshore Energy Systems Merrie-Ellen Gunning are among speakers at this event in Melbourne.
July 17-18
Australia Wind Energy 2025
VicGrid CEO Alistair Parker, Siemens Gamesa Global CEO Vinod Philip, New.E co-lead Clare Larkin-Sykes, RWE Renewables CEO Australia Daniel Belton, Engie AU Chief Renewables Officer Laura Caspari, ACCIONA Energía Australia MD Brett Wickham and CEFC Director, Investments, Nick Hawke are among the line-up at this Melbourne event.
July 17-18
Connecting Hydrogen
Federal Assistant Minister for Energy Josh Wilson, WA Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson, Chevron Australia GM Energy Transition David Fallon, ARENA Investment Director Alexandra McIntosh, Ampol CFO Greg Barnes, and Woodside Energy GM Carbon Capture and Storage Andrew Nicholls will speak at this event in Melbourne.
July 21
Safeguard Symposium
The Carbon Market Institute will host a discussion of market dynamics under the Safeguard Mechanism, finance and investment in ACCU supply, carbon price reform, and climate policy at this event in Sydney, which was rescheduled due to severe weather.
July 22
Smart Energy South Australia
Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen will headline at the Smart Energy Council conference and expo in Adelaide.
July 29-30
Australian Clean Energy Summit (ACES) 2025
AEMO CEO Daniel Westerman, AEMC Chair Anna Collyer, Climate Change Authority Chair Matt Kean, AGL CEO Damien Nicks, Iberdrola Australia CEO Ross Rolfe and Squadron Energy CEO Rob Wheals are among the lineup at the Clean Energy Council’s flagship event in Sydney.
July 30
Australian Sustainable Finance Summit
Treasury Deputy Secretary Angelia Grant, Original Power Executive Director Karrina Nolan, and Australian Office of Financial Management CEO Anna Hughes are among the line-up at this Sydney event.
August 26-27
Australian Renewable Heat Conference
Climate Change Authority Chair Matt Kean, ARENA investment manager Peter Haenke, and AGL sustainability expert Brendan Weinert will speak at this event in Sydney.
|
|
|
|