Analysis

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EV policies focus on the destination not the journey

State governments increasingly accept that the uptake of zero emissions vehicles requires their support to create a critical mass, with NSW the latest state to unveil a range of measures to speed up the purchase of ZEVs. The Australia Institute declared the nation's EV policy is becoming a confusing patchwork of policies and regulations, while the Electric Vehicle Council has said they’d like to see a national approach to EV policy.

BY Hamish Fitzsimmons Jun 24 2021

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Gas and hydro: Back-up in action

The first quarter of 2021 for the NEM's spot market was notable for its lack of notability. But in a measure of the how the NEM can turn, the Q2 Queensland average price to date is $135.83/MWh, versus $42.64/MWh over Q1. We look at how the market almost always successfully responds to the NEM’s variations, and its reliance on hydro and gas-fired generation to keep the lights on.

BY Ben Skinner & Carol Tran Jun 17 2021

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Driving towards EVs: How are we travelling?

In its Net Zero by 2050 paper the IEA envisions a world where by 2030 electric cars account for over 60 per cent of car sales, and by 2035, nearly all cars sold globally are electric. AEMO electricity consumption forecasts show where it sees electrification of transport occurring and highlights expected growth in EV usage.

BY Hamish Fitzsimmons Jun 10 2021

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Getting the mail on solar installations

The Australian Energy Council has analysed the nation's top suburbs for solar installations for the first quarter of 2021. And with 20 years of data collected by the Clean Energy Regulator, we also take a look at how the data compares to historical uptake.

BY AEC May 13 2021

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Will network operator batteries hurt competition?

Australia is grappling with the rapid change in how and when electricity is generated and consumed. In Western Australia, recent changes to the Electricity Networks Access Code allow expansion of the role of the network operator. Oakley Greenwood has considered what the amendments mean for competition in the Wholesale Electricity Market.

BY Graham Pearson May 13 2021

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FMG chases green dream

Disruption is one of the cornerstones of the success of Fortescue Metals Group. FMG’s ability to get things done in the face of seemingly insurmountable barriers can be illustrated no more vividly than when BHP and Rio Tinto sought to prevent the then start up iron ore miner from accessing its rail lines in the Pilbara. FMG built its own and outdid its rivals by extending those lines to Perth. Now FMG wants to apply the same zeal to energy and green steel.

BY Hamish Fitzsimmons Mar 04 2021

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Dropping demand and plunging prices: Can you have too much of a good thing?

The fourth quarter of 2020 saw the NEM reach lowest average demand since Q4 2001 – with SA and Victoria’s spot prices hitting record lows. Are customers benefiting from the price suppression effects of renewable energy generation? Or is the market telling us a different story?

BY Ben Skinner Feb 18 2021

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Big battery bonanza?

The way 2021 has started, you could be forgiven for thinking it is the year of the big battery. Plans for the “world’s largest battery” were unveiled for the Hunter Valley, while Meridian Energy announced a battery energy storage system to be co-located with the Hume Hydro Power Station. These are just the latest in a series of big battery project announcements.

BY Carl Kitchen Feb 11 2021

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Victoria’s big battery: What exactly is it for?

Announced with great fanfare on 5 November, the Victorian Big Battery may not win any prizes for imaginative naming, but it’s an intriguing project for a host of reasons.

BY Allan O'Neil for AEC Nov 26 2020

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Smoke on the solar: The impact on generation

The extreme weather conditions that led to massive bushfires occurring on both Australia’s south east coast last summer and across California more recently has had a dramatic and far reaching impact on people and communities.

BY Carl Kitchen Oct 15 2020

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Getting hydrogen on your own supply

If you Google “technology roadmap”, in the ‘People also ask’ section there’s a question, “What is the purpose of a technology roadmap?” That seems a good place to start.

BY Hamish Fitzsimmons Sep 24 2020

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Renewables in the NEM: Are they leading to price extremes?

With the ongoing growth of renewables in Australia there has been speculation of the overall impact this will have on an energy-only market like the NEM and in particular, its potential influence on spot prices.

BY Carl Kitchen Aug 20 2020

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REZs: Can they overcome the prisoner’s dilemma?

Last week the NSW Government announced its intention to expedite plans for the state’s second REZ in New England.

BY Ben Skinner & Carl Kitchen Jul 16 2020

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Preparing for the Consumer Data Right: Balancing opportunity and risk

With the Consumer Data Right underway in the banking sector, attention has now shifted to getting the energy sector CDR-ready.

BY Rhys Thomas Jul 16 2020

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South Australia faces solar trade off

The latest assessment of the implications of South Australia’s successful uptake of renewables, and rooftop solar PV in particular, reads like a thriller with plenty of twists.

BY Carl Kitchen Jun 25 2020

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Marginal Loss Factors: The state of play in Australia

Intra-regional loss factors, also known as Marginal Loss Factors, represent the transmission losses within each of the five regions of the NEM. MLFs depend on factors such as the amount of existing and new generation, electricity flows, and supply and demand.

BY KPMG for the AEC May 21 2020

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Green steel and energy exports: How realistic?

The potential for a hydrogen economy to be built around what could become a large-scale, cleaner and cheap energy source is never far from the news.

BY Carl Kitchen May 14 2020

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The energy market: A sensible place to stimulate the economy?

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen major shifts across the globe, with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg warning that the shadow of the economic shock will be profound and long-lasting.

BY Ben Skinner May 07 2020

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A solar challenge: Managing rooftop systems

The need to better manage the amount of solar PV generation produced on Australian rooftops was one focus of the Renewable Integration Study: Stage 1 report released last week. While outlining the potential for renewable generation in the grid, the study released by Australian Energy Market Operator also illustrates the hurdles that need to be met.

BY Carl Kitchen May 07 2020

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Reaching new heights: NEM system costs

Last week AEMO released its latest Quarterly Energy Dynamics Report with the majority of coverage focused on the fact that average NEM spot prices fell to their lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2016.

BY Carl Kitchen Apr 30 2020

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