-
How battery storage will change household energy market
The cost of rooftop PV has fallen sharply, but for many consumers it may still not be a sound economic investment without storage. But what is the cost of batteries? And what are the implications for network providers? This could be the next big debate in the energy industry. -
Five things we learned this week …..
… about corporate and political delusions on climate and carbon: Shell on its unburnable carbon, Joe Hockey on belching cattle, Tony Abbott on Garnaut’s endorsement for Direct Action, and support from business lobby, and Australian miners on the future of thermal coal. -
Why Baillieu’s exit could be good news for wind energy
Ted Baillieu was a one-man show, erecting roadblocks for the wind energy industry. His resignation could remove some of those roadblocks, but his legacy remains, with a tribunal implying it may be prepared to reject a wind farm because of ‘psychological’ impacts. -
ACT offers financial guarantees to solar auction bidders
Bidders in the second round of the ACT Government’s Big Solar auction program have been offered financial guarantees. This came after project financiers upped the cost of debt and equity due to the political risk associated with Labor’s precarious hold on power in the territory. -
How affordable solar changes everything for the consumer
The arrival of affordable solar will have a profound impact on the energy market. Consumers now have a cost effective way of generating their own energy, but incumbent utilities face a major threat to their business models. So does the ‘democratisation’ of energy win the day? Or the power of regulation? -
Fossil fuels put on notice – the party is about to end
Deutsche Bank and Standard and Poor’s put the fossil fuel industry on notice and say they are no longer guaranteed cheap finance. Or any finance. China may end coal imports and oil will be hit by carbon constraints. This has big implications for Canada’s tar sands industry and the Australia thermal coal export push led by Rinehart, Palmer and others.
