RenewEconomy will be updating this “live” coverage of the Australian Clean Energy Summit throughout the two days of the conference. Please refresh story for latest update. Wednesday’s updates can be found here.
Rio director: Please give us your best wind and solar
Rio Tinto director, and former Macquarie Banker and Australian of the Year, Simon McKeon, says the company is expecting a “good response” to its tender for 4GW of wind and solar (with firming) to power its Queensland smelters and refineries.
“Everybody, please just line up, help this company but actually this region with (wind and solar),” McKeon told the Clea Energy Summit, where he is appearing as head of the Energy Transitions Initiative.
“There has to be a firming element to it. We’re industrial 24/7, and can’t just turn it off every now and then. It’s on a scale that I don’t think we’ve seen in this country before, certainly for industrial regions and I think we are going to see more and more of it.
“I don’t even know what the response is, is I couldn’t share them anyway at this point. But I really hope that when large companies come together and say we are behind this, this is firm, this is a really serious offer long term.
“It’s a it’s a radical offering in a way and, you know, certainly Rio Tinto is hoping and expecting a really good response.”
CEC opens Chloe Munro Scholarship for Transformational Leadership
The Clea Energy Council says it has opened the 2022 round of the Chloe Munro Scholarship for Transformational Leadership, which focuses on supporting women who are emerging leaders in the fields of clean energy, energy management and carbon abatement.
“The inaugural round in 2021 attracted high calibre applicants across a wide variety of roles who have since undertaken or started training with Women & Leadership Australia,” said Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, Kane Thornton.
“The benefits in creating greater equity in leadership will go beyond the renewables industry, and diversity in decision-making will result in better outcomes for everyone.”
This year’s intake will include three places in the Executive Ready course, a seven-month development program for middle to senior leaders and seven places in the Leading Edge program, a four-month development program for early career leaders and managers.
1.5°C looking implausible, says BNEF
BNEF analyst Kobad Bhavnagri says the research group’s long term analysis of the global energy and emissions economy shows that capping average global warming at 1.5°C is looking implausible.
Bhavnagri presented BNEF’s analysis of abatement options, but noted that its scenario was based on 1.75°C because the “math is too hard” on 1.5°C.
“It’s increasingly, sadly, looking implausible,” he said of 1.5°C. “But at 1.75 degrees, you see that sector by sector how fast these industries have to move, which we calibrate based on how ready they are either technologies available, are they commercially deployable at scale.
“And with that sort of math, what we see is that the steel cement and petrochemicals industries which are very very hard to abate we basically say that they need to flatline their emissions from in the next 10 years. You can’t afford any growth. And and then from there, they need to precipitously decline.”
“The RET’s there, why don’t we use that?”
Director of Goldwind Australia, John Titchen, suggests a revival of the federal Renewable Energy Target – which required 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity to be sourced from renewables by 2020 – could help ensure continued investment in new wind and solar projects under a proposed capacity mechanism.
“I think one of the concerns is: ‘does [a capacity mechanism] squeeze out the renewable transition in some way, by holding in existing assets’?,” Titchen said.
“If the concern is the capacity market is going to squeeze out renewable growth, just extend the [Renewable Energy Target].”
“That would be a complementary mechanism. You don’t have to put carbon trading in place to do that.”
“Maybe carbon [pricing] would be the better way, but politically, it looks sort of impossible. The RET’s there, why don’t we use that?”
“The world simply cannot build batteries fast enough”
Tesla chair Robyn Denholm says the need to scale up the world’s battery storage capacity is particularly urgent, with Tesla, alone, forecasting demand for more than 3TWh of batteries for its EVs and stationary energy storage fleet by 2030.
“We can only transition to reliable, cost effective renewables as fast as we can build energy storage. We can only reduce vehicle pollution as fast as we can build electric cars. That is the race,” Denholm said.
“To meet the challenge of climate change. This entire industry needs to scale at sprinting pace and what role does Australia want to play in the world’s battery race?
“Will Australia be able to move further up the value chain to more refining to large scale cell manufacturing to vehicles? In my view, that’s a possibility.”
Denholm: Australia should not be prolonging the life of coal
Tesla chair Robyn Denholm says Australia’s is making solid progress in the transition to renewables – with a national plan (the ISP) and a new federal government with more ambitious targets – but is still “hedging its bets” on coal.
“We should not be supporting market mechanisms that have been being built to prolong the life of existing or, heaven forbid, enable new fossil fuel assets,” she told the Australian Clean Energy Summit.
“Australia has set a target of 43% emissions reduction by 2030. But we will we are still hedging our bets someone with coal, just in case.
“While we can all understand the need to mitigate risk. We must do this by looking … at forward leaning technologies. Keeping an eye on the rearview mirror will simply encourage us to not stick to our plan and we are already late to the transition party.”
Westerman: Firmed renewables cheapest reliable enegy “by country mile”
Australian Energy Market Operator CEO Daniel Westerman says the recent CSIRO GenCost report showed that “firmed renewables” is clearly the cheapest reliable power option “by a country mile.”
“We know that we’re likely to see 60 per cent of today’s coal generation gone by the end of the decade. So in fact, these (recent energy) events have simply underscored the need to accelerate Australia’s transition to the cheapest form of reliable electricity.
“And that is firmed renewable energy, connected to Australian homes and businesses through efficiently delivered transmission.
“The latest GenCost report, released last week shows that clearly to be the case. Again. By a country mile.”
To achieve higher levels of firmed renewables into the energy system would enable Australia to decouple domestic energy prices from international shocks, meet its emissions targets and reduce stress on Australian homes and businesses.”
Westerman: We avoided load shedding, but only just
Australian Energy Market Operator CEO Daniel Westerman says the recent market suspension was necessary because it was becoming impossible to manage, with more than 10GW of capacity directed to be made available or generate power, and up to 40 manual directions being made at any one time.
“We avoided load shedding, but only just, and at times with no margin for error or unexpected events,” Westerman told the summit. The cost of the energy crisis, driven by soaring fossil fuel prices, high demand, and more than 3,000MW of unplanned coal outages was significant.
He said the wholesale cost of electricity in the NEM in the ten days prior to these events was $2.4 billion, totalled $1.6 billion during the 10 days of administered pricing, and would be in the “hundreds of millions” during the market suspension.
Westerman said the situation in the market “remains fragile” and it “would be unhelpful” if the administered price cap were breached again. He called on generators to provide more detailed information on their likely production.
NSW to choose Waratah Super Battery developer before end of year
Stepping in for NSW Treasurer Matt Kean – who was a late withdrawal – parliamentary secretary for the Treasury, Felicty Wilson said the NSW government welcomed the rapid progress being made in transitioning the state’s electricity system to renewables,
To this point, Wilson indicated that the state government was aiming to pick the developer of the 700MW Waratah Super Battery before the end of the year.
“It will be the largest network standby battery in the entire southern hemisphere. The battery will effectively act as a shock absorber unlocking the transmission capacity that otherwise has to be left in reserve. In order to handle events like the power surges from lightning strikes or from bushfires,” Wilson said.
“EnergyCo recently launched a competitive procurement process to identify suitable battery developers and appropriate sites for the development of the battery.
“The expression of interest attracted global interest and the final decision is expected to be made towards the end of this year, and that will determine the best project development proposal and site requirements.”
Wilson said that through the rapid progress being achieved, New South Wales remained on track to achieve its emissions reduction targets and the replacement of the bulk of the state’s coal fired generators.
“The exciting progress that we’ve made under the roadmap shows that our plans are working. We are on track to meet our emission reductions targets including net zero by 2050,” Wilson said.
“We are on track to deliver the trifecta of clean, reliable and affordable power. And we are on track to make New South Wales a renewable energy superpower to propel our prosperity for decades to come.”
Thornton: Huge opportunity in “biggest repair job in history”
Clean Energy Council CEO Kane Thornton says the shift to an “electric age” in Australia is an enormous economic opportunity to create a global clean energy superpower and part of the “biggest repair job in human history” in relation to climate.
In his opening address to the Australian Clean Energy Summit, Thornton paid tribute to the new federal Labor government and its handling of the recent energy crisis.
“It has been first rate – listen to experts, empower key bodies to do what they are charged to do, collaborate with state governments, avoid knee-jerk reactions and speak the truth to media hunting for a beat up,” Thornton said.
“The time for action is now. To realise this once in a generation opportunity, we must accelerate reform of our energy markets, diversify and develop supply chains and develop real opportunities to build local capability and workforce.
“Nowhere has a lack of leadership and coordination been more evident than in transmission. The vast majority of our grid was built by governments.
“There is enormous private sector capital and capability prepared to build the grid of the 21st century, but it needs reform to the regulatory test and stimulation by government. The ALP’s signature policy, Rewiring the Nation, has enormous potential, and is needed urgently.
“We have made good progress in partnership with AEMO on grid connection, but more needs to be done to streamline and bring certainty to the grid connection process.
We need to accelerate our investment in new wind and solar to increase the amount of energy being produced, while expanding our hydro and battery capacity so we can store energy and manage the grid to meet demand.
“We need to make sure energy markets create the price signals for the right investment at the right time in the right location. I’m not convinced a capacity market, even one which excludes coal and gas or accounts for their emissions, is the best policy to deliver that, but we will work with the Energy Security Board to explore what is possible.”
