Catch up
Policy
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The NSW Government has partnered with NSW Farmers to promote a guidebook they say will help farmers engage confidently in renewable energy projects. The guidebook was developed in collaboration with the Queensland Farmers Federation and stems from an agreement between NSW Farmers, EnergyCo and ACEREZ to improve farmer, landholder and community understanding of the energy transition. Minister for Energy Penny Sharpe and Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW Tara Moriarty will launch the guide at the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone today.
The National Press Club debate between Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Shadow Minister Ted O’Brien quickly descended into an argument over which models to believe and who was or wasn't relying on the experts.
On the Coalitions energy policy Bowen said:
“They dismiss the advice of the CSIRO the energy market operator and the other experts. That's the essential difference of approach - we listen to the experts. Mr Dutton and Mr O'Brien think they know better than the experts.”
O’Brien said under Labor’s plan “Australia will become poorer, weaker and more dependent on foreign supply chains”. Asked whether the Coalition’s policy was to cap renewables at 54% as reflected in the Frontier Economics model for nuclear, O’Brien said:
“No, there’s no policy we have which is capping any technology…The modeling has been done estimating the amount of technology from each energy source and you're right renewables are going to be key, so too will gas so too will storage, so too will nuclear. Cap suggests that you put a firm level and no more and that’s never been our policy.”
Greens Leader Adam Bandt proposed a “renters right to solar” scheme, paid for through a new $10 billion fund established through Commonwealth-owned Snowy Hydro. Solar would be installed at rental properties, with upfront costs paid by the government, under the plan designed to open up access to lower power bills and reduced emissions for Australia’s seven million renters.
 Projects
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Neoen said its 238.5 MW / 477 MWh Blyth Battery was now operational. The project, which was completed ahead of schedule last year, will deliver on Neoen’s first-ever renewable energy baseload contract, helping firm wind power from the company’s Goyder South Stage 1 wind farm to power operations at BHP‘s Olympic Dam.
People
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Economist John Fingleton has been appointed to lead the UK Prime Minister’s Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce in one of the world’s most expensive countries in which to build nuclear power. The taskforce’s panel of nuclear experts is yet to be announced.
Regulation
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The AEMC opened consultation on a rule change request to introduce two new forecasts of reliability and supply adequacy in the east coast gas system. The change would see a short-term (7 day, published daily) and medium-term (12 month, published weekly) outlook of demand, supply and infrastructure capacity so participants can better shift gas demand before the situation requires AEMO intervention. Submissions close May 8.
Technology
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Artificial intelligence will drive a surge in electricity demand from data centres while also unlocking opportunities to cut costs, enhance competitiveness, spur innovation and reduce emissions, according to an International Energy Agency report. The IEA forecast electricity demand from data centres worldwide to more than double by 2030 to around 945 terawatt-hours, largely driven by AI. But data centres will still represent less than 10% of projected electricity demand growth by 2030, and in the meantime AI could help offset the emissions this creates. The role of AI in scientific discovery could also accelerate innovation in energy technologies such as batteries and solar PV, the IEA said.
Facet Amtech, an SME licensing technology from the University of Newcastle to improve energy efficiency in ammonia production moved to the final stage of CSIRO’s ON Accelerate program, a structured three-month accelerator for entrepreneurial researchers looking to commercialise their ideas.
Google said it would partner with US grid operator PJM Interconnection to develop a new set of AI tools and models to manage and optimise grid connections.
Research
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In a paper published in Energy Research & Social Science, Griffith University’s Dr Ellie Martus examined the politics of metallurgical coal in Australia. The fundamental role steel plays in renewable energy infrastructure, coupled with the present lack of economically viable alternatives to metallurgical coal in steel production, paradoxically means that metallurgical coal is central to decarbonisation – at least for now, Martus writes.
