Any integrity Turnbull ever had is now blown as he kowtows to the Right on energy
Turnbull blows trumpet for right wing idiocy on energy http://reneweconomy.com.au/turnbull-blows-trumpet-for-right-wing-idiocy-on-energy-35004/
After more than two years at the helm, Turnbull has done nothing to change the policies laid out by his predecessor Tony Abbott, and has only added to uncertainty by canning the major recommendation of the Finkel Review and trying to force the likes of AGL to invest yet more money in their ageing coal fired generators.
In an appearance on ABC TV’s Q&A program on Monday night, on the same day as a series of end-0f-year interviews with mainstream media, Turnbull appeared triumphant, cock-sure and combative, and unwavering from the hard right line on climate and energy.
Asked about his warnings – made in 2010 – that failing to address climate change would endanger future generations, Turnbull predicted a long future for fossil fuels, and repeated the usual fear-mongering about wind and solar.
“Energy policy has to be driven by engineering and economics, not by ideology, and as we’ve seen, for example, in South Australia, sheer idiocy.
“You know, where you had an enormous investment in wind power – nothing wrong with that, except they didn’t have anything to keep the lights on when the windmills stopped turning. A catastrophe. So you’ve got to plan it right. There will be a role for fossil fuels for a long time.”
But whether Turnbull likes it or not, the idiocy does not lie with Labor in South Australia; it lies with the mind numbing ignorance and obstinacy of the right wing in Australia’s politics and media, forever holding on to their attachment to coal.
The blackout in South Australia proved one thing, that the country’s ageing dumb grid was no longer fit for purpose, and the solution would not come from last century technologies like coal and gas, but a new system built around wind, solar, smart thinking and new management practices.
The Coalition’s response to wind and solar, and new technologies such as battery storage and smart things like demand response, betray their own ideology and their lack of respect to both engineering and economics.
Turnbull will be buoyed by the fact that the mainstream media has declared the energy policy issue to be “sorted” – the AFR on Tuesday said the energy policy conundrum was “fixed” and even the Guardian has suggested any opposition to the proposed National Energy Guarantee is just “playing politics”.
But energy and climate policy is anything but: stitched up maybe, fixed no.
Turnbull claims, and did so again on Q&A, that the NEG – currently little more than a thought bubble – has widespread support, but that is only among the incumbents and big business players that stand to profit from it, and their lobbyists and boosters.
The support of others is highly conditional, and is on the basis that the NEG must not look like what the modelling suggests it might look like – useless on emissions, inviting no new investment, doing little on prices, and simply reinforcing the market power of the incumbents.
The lack of scrutiny from mainstream media, and its willingness to pursue Coalition and fossil fuel industry talking points about “clean coal” and “base-load”, will make Turnbull’s task easier and take much of the political risk out of his informal treaty with the technology troglodytes on his right.
But his pursuit of these lines is all the more disappointing because he has plenty of evidence say otherwise.
+ The government’s own modelling suggested that more rnewsbles, not less, would lead to the greatest price reductions;
+ The Finkel report on storage reinforced what the CSIRO and the networks had already made clear, that the level of storage required is remarkably small and almost non-existent for the levels contemplated by this government;
+ And numerous reports put emissions at their ever highest level, point out the uselessness of the current Direct Action policy and the growing risks from global warming.
That’s why the AGL decision on Liddell is significant. A combination of renewables, storage, and some gas peaking plant would slash emissions and offer technology 20 per cent cheaper than the Coalition’s preferred option of spend money keeping ageing and unreliable coal generators on line.
But as the Institute of Sustainable Futures points out, emissions could be cut even further, and costs halved (rather than cut by 20 per cent), if an even smarter approach was adopted – a mixture of renewables and energy efficiency and demand management.
However, as ISF’s Chris Dunstan points out, this does require the government to actually do something, and reframe policy so that utilities and consumers benefit.
The sole incentive for the utilities under current market settings is to invest in more generation and continue to extract the monopoly rents from their market dominance that are screwing consumers. This report from the regulator last week underlines exactly how they are doing that.
This makes Turnbull’s latest utterings completely indefensible.
It is no longer good enough to lock himself into the Abbott era policies designed and framed by climate deniers and technology skeptics who sought to do the minimum possible.
(It may be partially explained by the fact that one of his principal climate and energy policy advisors, Sid Marris, used to work for the Minerals Council of Australia. And Patrick Gibbons, the former advisor to environment minister Greg Hunt, is now head of climate and energy at the MCA).
If he wants it, Turnbull has all the evidence he needs to argue that the energy trilemma – emissions, reliability and affordability – is best addressed by wholesale market and policy reform and ambitious renewable and climate targets.
It would lead to a smarter, cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable grid. And in quick time. What’s not to like about that?
The issue over marriage equality showed how reasoned argument, and just a little political and a lot of community leadership, can overcome the fear and loathing of the small but powerful conservative base.
But Turnbull has shown that he has not the courage, nor the political need, to push these through.
Instead, he is likely to push ahead with Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro scheme. Its feasibility study, due to be released soon, will make fascinating reading.
But if climate policies stay as they are, then Snowy 2.0 will not be, as Turnbull claimed on Q&A, “the largest single renewable project in our history since the Snowy Mountains Scheme was built”.
In fact, it won’t be renewable at all, it will simply be using excess coal power at night to push water up hill and then wait for high prices before allowing it to cascade back down again.
And if Snowy 2.0 is built in these circumstances, it will lock in the power of the incumbents, the arrival of zero marginal cost generation from wind and solar will be kept to a minimum, and it won’t just be customers getting screwed, it will be the planet as well.
But that’s the Turnbull we’ve come to know.
13 Dec REneweconomy News
RenewEconomy-
Turnbull blows trumpet for right wing idiocy on energyMalcolm Turnbull now appears perfectly comfortable parroting right wing nonsense about energy policy, branding high renewable policies as “idiocy” and defending the future of coal. That may be because mainstream media won’t challenge him.
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Queensland names new energy minister – meet Dr Anthony LynhamA post-election cabinet reshuffle has delivered a new energy minister for Queensland. Here’s what we know about Dr Anthony Lynham.
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CEFC continues to expand clean energy investments in South AustraliaThe CEFC is helping demonstrate the diverse potential of energy efficiency programs by helping finance clean energy improvements to two Adelaide buildings.
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ARENA gives perovskite solar tech a push, with $6m Greatcell grantCommercial development of cheap, printable, Australian made perovskite solar cells boosted with $6m ARENA grant to Greatcell Solar.
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AEMO relaxes constraints on wind power in South AustraliaAEMO relaxes limits on wind generation in South Australia as it continues to review system strength needs of the grid with the highest penetration of wind and solar in the world.
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80MW solar farm proposed for Tamworth, NSWNew Australian solar developer, Oriens Energy, announces plans for 80MW solar farm in Tamworth, with more projects in the pipeline.
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New study smashes myths about “embodied” energy in wind and solarCritics have argued renewable energies could come with high hidden greenhouse gas emissions that would negate their benefits to the climate. A new study shows the opposite is true.
11 December More REneweconomy news
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Zibelman: Resisting energy transition like trying to resist internetAEMO boss Audrey Zibelman says energy transition as unstoppable as the internet, because economics and technology have changed. Some baseload may be needed in the future, but it doesn’t need to be coal.
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CRC awards Solar Analytics $1.9M for Smart Home Energy Management SystemSolar Analytics evolves from a solar monitoring platform to a holistic Smart Home Energy Management System with the announcement of a $1.9 million grant from the Australian Federal Government.
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Flinders’ renewable frontierThe Flinders Island community can look forward to a secure and cleaner energy future thanks to its new Hybrid Energy Hub.
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Construction begins at Kennedy wind, solar and battery storage hubConstruction begins on first 60MW of proposed 1200MW Kennedy Energy Park, the world-leading wind, solar, and battery storage project in north Queensland.
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ERF review fails to douse doubts over Coalition key climate policyCCA review of Coalition’s Emissions Reduction Fund fuels concerns the scheme is an expensive, inefficient and risky way to cut carbon.
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Know your NEM: Liddell plans could drown in Snowy 2AGL’s plans for Liddell are vague and lacking, most likely because the company is waiting to see what the Coalition aims to do with Snowy Hydro.
11 December REneweconomy News
RenewEconomy
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Maoneng lands Australia’s biggest solar PPA with AGLChina-Australia renewable energy firm lands PPA with AGL for construction of 300MW of large scale solar – the biggest contract so far in Australia.
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AGL proposes 1.6GW wind and solar, plus storage, to replace LiddellAGL confirms plans to invest in 1.6GW of wind and solar, plus storage and other technologies, to replace the ageing coal clunker, Liddell, which it will close in 2022, much to the annoyance of the federal Coalition.
8 December More REneweconomy news
RenewEconomy-
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Rooftop solar: Australia’s greatest opportunity – and its greatest risk
Why rooftop solar could be one of the grid’s greatest assets but also one of its greatest threats if not properly managed. Here’s what AEMO thinks needs to be done. -
Coal versus cricket in IndiaWill the interruption of match in New Delhi between India and Sri Lanka by toxic smog finally spur the Indian Government to take coal plant pollution seriously?
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Campoona mining project approved to produce ultra-pure graphite for batteriesArcher Exploration has been granted approval for its Campoona graphite project, north of Cleve on the Eyre Peninsula.
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NSW signs LGC off-take deal with Neoen’s Dubbo solar farmNSW signs deal to buy LGC’s from Neoen’s Dubbo solar farm, and says “this lays the foundation for more renewable energy procurement.”
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Zen Energy gets retail licence to launch “base-load” renewable productZen Energy gets electricity retailer licence to offer “baseload renewable energy” product and proceed with 1GW solar and storage facility at the Whyalla Steelworks.
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Newcrest snubs solar for coal power, but was it a good deal?Gold miner Newcrest decides against solar farm to help power its Cadia mine in NSW, highlighting the challenges for renewable developers.
Australia’s first offshore wind farm wins international funding
The Age , Cole Latimer, 6 Dec 17, Australia’s first offshore wind farm, an $8 billion 2000 megawatt project, has secured financial backing from a major international green energy investment fund.Offshore Energy has joined with Danish fund management group Copenhagen Infrastructure Partnership to develop the renewable energy project.
The offshore wind farm, dubbed the Star of the South, will be built 10 to 25 kilometres off the coast of Victoria’s Gippsland region, in the Bass Strait, and could provide one and a half times the energy of the now-closed Victorian Hazelwood coal-fired power station.
Offshore Energy managing director Andy Evans told Fairfax Media the partnership would transform the company and lift the viability of offshore wind for Australia………
Star of the South is currently Australia’s only offshore wind project.
“The industry doesn’t really exist at the moment,” Mr Evans told Fairfax Media.
He said there is currently a greater focus on solar and onshore wind projects in Australia, as they are currently cheaper than offshore wind, however, “the cost of offshore will come down, and has already seen falling costs in Europe.”
However, it is not Australia’s only offshore renewable energy project in development.
There are a number of wave energy projects currently underway around the nation’s coast. Wave Swell Energy is one wave energy generator that is also using the Bass Strait as its testing grounds.
The group is carrying out commercial validation of its technology off King Island, in the Bass Strait.
It has signed an offtake agreement with Hydro Tasmania for an initial 200-kilowatt trial unit, and will operate during 2018 after its initial funding goals are reached. http://www.theage.com.au/business/energy/australia-s-first-offshore-wind-farm-international-funding-20171205-p4yxfb.html
8 December REneweconomy news
RenewEconomy-
AusNet, Deakin Uni to build 7.25MW solar, storage micro-gridAusNet and Deakin Uni to build solar and storage micro-grid on Geelong campus, to act as R&D for similar projects.
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The Community Grid Project launches with a ‘Local Energy Hero’ competitionMornington Peninsula Shire were joined by representatives from electricity network provider United Energy and technology company GreenSync to officially launch the Community Grid Project at the Eco Living Display Centre, at the Briars in Mount Martha.
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Improper creation of STCs results in compliance actionFollowing recent enforcement action against one of Australia’s largest solar retailers, the Clean Energy Regulator has taken enforcement action against one of the largest registered agents, Emerging Energy Solutions Group Pty Ltd.
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The Australian utility first to embrace era of “base-cost renewables”West Australia’s regional utility Horizon Power has become the first major Australian utility to embrace the concept of “base-cost renewables”, recognising that the plunging cost of solar and wind is set to turn traditional theories of energy supply on their head.
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Acciona supports Australian manufacturing as Mt Gellibrand transformer deliveries beginAcciona Energy is about to take delivery of critical components for its 132 MW under-construction wind farm at Mt Gellibrand in Victoria.
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The climate effect of the Trump administrationOver its first year, the Trump administration has taken extreme steps to unravel progress on U.S. climate action domestically.
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Tesla battery and “hidden demand” added to popular NEM-WatchThe popular NEM-Watch facility now includes the Tesla big battery, state demand levels and “hidden demand” from rooftop solar PV.
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Polluting robots win big, clean energy workers get screwed in Trump tax billThe Trump tax bill will devastate the renewable industry and jobs, while incentivising automation, and the manufacture of polluting, unprofitable robots.
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Five ways that cities can slash carbon pollution right nowA new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute lists 22 policies that could help get the job done.
6 December REneweconomy News
RenewEconomy-
5B plans module pre-fab facility in Adelaide, “gigafactory” in AsiaAustralian solar plant innovators 5B have announced plans to set up a production facility in Adelaide, and potentially a “gigawatt” production line in Asia.
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Burning coal for power “like burning dollar notes” in era of cheap solarBurning coal to generate electricity in era of solar at 1c/kWh makes as about as much economic sense as “burning dollar notes”, says leading researcher Martin Green.
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Energy regulator smashes illusion of “cheap” coal power in NSWAER report absolves big generators of predatory bidding during demand peaks, but they hardly need to: The cost of “baseload” coal supply in NSW has jumped so high that there is no such thing as “cheap” coal generation.
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Blockchain App that pays households to cut energy use wins Future Cities HackathonHeld at UTS, the hackathon brought together some of the best and brightest from the fields of sustainability, design and technology, the corporate and academic world, and the start-up community.
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WOMADelaide announces the 2018 planet talks programWOMADelaide today announced the full program of speakers and presenters for The Planet Talks, its renowned series of political, social and planetary discussions hosted as part of the festival from March 10 – 12.
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Enphase Energy roars into Indian market with the company’s largest solar installation in the Asia-Pacific regionOccupying 67,000 square feet over six rooftops in multiple orientations, the landmark installation overcomes shading challenges to power a large, fast-moving consumer goods company.
2 December REneweconomy News
RenewEconomy-
ASX top 20 companies for climate change reporting in 2017We’ve looked at the top 20 companies listed on the ASX to see what they actually said about climate change in their latest annual report.
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Developing nations are driving record growth in solar powerEmerging markets now account for the majority of growth in solar power, according to new data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance .
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How to find a site for a solar farm in less than 10 minutesWant to know where to connect a local solar farm to the grid? Now you can, in 10 minutes or less.
Hot weather in South Australia: Tesla battery turned on a day ahead of schedule
South Australia’s Tesla battery called on a day ahead of schedule as hot weather takes hold, ABC News 30 Nov 17 By politics reporter Nick Harmsen, South Australia’s giant Tesla battery has begun dispatching stored wind power into the electricity grid a day ahead of its scheduled switch-on.
Premier Jay Weatherill will visit the battery site — alongside the Hornsdale windfarm near Jamestown in the state’s mid north — on Friday, to mark its official opening on the first day of summer.
But with temperatures across South Australia and Victoria hitting the mid 30s, and output from the state’s wind farms low, the battery was called upon early to help meet Thursday afternoon’s peak demand.
The battery dispatched a maximum of 59 megawatts of power. The 100MW/129MWh battery is capable of powering about 30,000 homes for a little over an hour.
The manufacturer, Tesla says the lithium-ion device — made up of PowerWall 2 batteries — is both the “largest” by storage and “most powerful” of its type in the world……..http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-30/sa-tesla-battery-begins-producing-power-a-day-ahead-of-schedule/9212794
1 December REneweconomy News
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It’s 30 years since scientists first warned of climate threat to AustraliaIn November 30, 1987 Australian scientists officially sounded the climate alarm. No one can say we haven’t been warned. -
Wind power prices have plummeted again in GermanyThe predicted price of onshore wind in Germany is now half the EU’s projections for 2030, following an auction in Germany this week.
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Tesla big battery shows off its flexibility in final testingTesla battery goes through final testing with a rapid series of charging and discharging – never seen before on Australia’s ageing dumb grid.
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Finkel’s frustration: Everyone else has a strategy, but not AustraliaFinkel vents his frustrations in final energy speech of the year, dumping on six biggest myths about electricity market, and delivering brick-bats to both policy makers and regulators.
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Aera Energy and GlassPoint to build California’s largest solar energy projectAera Energy to install first-of-its-kind solar project to reduce oilfield emissions.
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Vestas, CWP get serious about plan to export Pilbara solar and wind to AsiaSceptics might call it crazy to run a clean power ‘extension cord’ all the way to Indonesia, but the ELEXI plan to export Pilbara generated renewable energy to Asia has a serious team behind it.
Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) – Australia has enough electricity for summer
Australia has enough power for summer: AEMO, The Age, Cole Latimer, 28 Nov 17,
The chance of major summer blackouts has been cut as energy operators have found extra power for the east coast.
The Australian Energy Market Operator has added almost 2000 megawatts of additional power for the summer ahead, which it says will more than replace the 1600 megawatts taken offline after Victoria’s Hazelwood brown coal-fired power station closed in March…….
AEMO has now secured additional power to plug these forecast energy holes, and prepared the National Electricity Market – comprising Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, and NSW – for the summer ahead.
“AEMO is confident that we have taken all the necessary actions – and then some – to make sure we are ready,” AEMO chief executive Audrey Zibelman said. “We now have a range of dispatchable resources that can be used to strategically support the market as required, including battery storage, diesel generation and demand resources,” she said…….
More than 1000 megawatts of generation has been secured through demand response programs and the Reliability and Emergency Reserve Trader (RERT) mechanism, which encourage major power users to reduce their energy consumption during peak demand times.
Home consumers have also been encouraged to reduce their consumption, although AEMO expects demand to stay stable…….. http://www.theage.com.au/business/energy/australia-has-enough-power-for-summer-aemo-20171127-gztzfn.html
29 November REneweconomy News
- Know your NEM: Why AEMC needs a fresh view of policy mess
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AEMC chief John Pierce has had a long run, perhaps long enough. And why sale of Loy Yang B is good for competition.NAB, Origin help Aussies make the switch and save with solarHomeowners will be able to make a positive impact on their finances as well as the environment, through a new solar initiative launched this week by NAB and Origin.
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Kidston solar project set to start sending power to the gridThe first stage of huge solar and “water battery” storage project in an old gold mine in Queensland about to start exporting to grid.
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Tesla big battery ramps up, AEMO seems happy so farTesla battery testing shows major charging and discharging – a novelty to the grid. Both AEMO and SA government sound pretty happy.
Australia can meet its 2030 greenhouse emissions target at zero net cost
What’s the net cost of using renewables to hit Australia’s climate target? Nothing https://theconversation.com/whats-the-net-cost-of-using-renewables-to-hit-australias-climate-target-nothing-88021, Andrew Blakers, Professor of Engineering, Australian National UniversityPhD Candidate, Australian National University, Research Fellow, ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australian National University, November 27, 2017 Australia can meet its 2030 greenhouse emissions target at zero net cost, according to our analysis of a range of options for the National Electricity Market.
Our modelling shows that renewable energy can help hit Australia’s emissions reduction target of 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2030 effectively for free. This is because the cost of electricity from new-build wind and solar will be cheaper than replacing old fossil fuel generators with new ones.
Currently, Australia is installing about 3 gigawatts (GW) per year of wind and solar photovoltaics (PV). This is fast enough to exceed 50% renewables in the electricity grid by 2030. It’s also fast enough to meet Australia’s entire carbon reduction target, as agreed at the 2015 Paris climate summit.
Encouragingly, the rapidly declining cost of wind and solar PV electricity means that the net cost of meeting the Paris target is roughly zero. This is because electricity from new-build wind and PV will be cheaper than from new-build coal generators; cheaper than existing gas generators; and indeed cheaper than the average wholesale price in the entire National Electricity Market, which is currently A$70-100 per megawatt-hour.
Cheapest option
Electricity from new-build wind in Australia currently costs around A$60 per MWh, while PV power costs about A$70 per MWh.
During the 2020s these prices are likely to fall still further – to below A$50 per MWh, judging by the lower-priced contracts being signed around the world, such as in Abu Dhabi, Mexico, India and Chile.
In our research, published today, we modelled the all-in cost of electricity under three different scenarios:
- Renewables: replacement of enough old coal generators by renewables to meet Australia’s Paris climate target
- Gas: premature retirement of most existing coal plant and replacement by new gas generators to meet the Paris target. Note that gas is uncompetitive at current prices, and this scenario would require a large increase in gas use, pushing up prices still further.
- Status quo: replacement of retiring coal generators with supercritical coal. Note that this scenario fails to meet the Paris target by a wide margin, despite having a similar cost to the renewables scenario described above, even though our modelling uses a low coal power station price.
The chart below [on original] shows the all-in cost of electricity in the 2020s under each of the three scenarios, and for three different gas prices: lower, higher, or the same as the current A$8 per gigajoule. As you can see, electricity would cost roughly the same under the renewables scenario as it would under the status quo, regardless of what happens to gas prices.
Balancing a renewable energy grid
The cost of renewables includes both the cost of energy and the cost of balancing the grid to maintain reliability. This balancing act involves using energy storage, stronger interstate high-voltage power lines, and the cost of renewable energy “spillage” on windy, sunny days when the energy stores are full.
The current cost of hourly balancing of the National Electricity Market (NEM) is low because the renewable energy fraction is small. It remains low (less than A$7 per MWh) until the renewable energy fraction rises above three-quarters.
The renewable energy fraction in 2020 will be about one-quarter, which leaves plenty of room for growth before balancing costs become significant.
The proposed Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project would have a power generation capacity of 2GW and energy storage of 350GWh. This could provide half of the new storage capacity required to balance the NEM up to a renewable energy fraction of two-thirds.
The new storage needed over and above Snowy 2.0 is 2GW of power with 12GWh of storage (enough to provide six hours of demand). This could come from a mix of pumped hydro, batteries and demand management.
Stability and reliability
Most of Australia’s fossil fuel generators will reach the end of their technical lifetimes within 20 years. In our “renewables” scenario detailed above, five coal-fired power stations would be retired early, by an average of five years. In contrast, meeting the Paris targets by substituting gas for coal requires 10 coal stations to close early, by an average of 11 years.
Under the renewables scenario, the grid will still be highly reliable. That’s because it will have a diverse mix of generators: PV (26GW), wind (24GW), coal (9GW), gas (5GW), pumped hydro storage (5GW) and existing hydro and bioenergy (8GW). Many of these assets can be used in ways that help to deliver other services that are vital for grid stability, such as spinning reserve and voltage management.
Because a renewable electricity system comprises thousands of small generators spread over a million square kilometres, sudden shocks to the electricity system from generator failure, such as occur regularly with ageing large coal generators, are unlikely.
Neither does cloudy or calm weather cause shocks, because weather is predictable and a given weather system can take several days to move over the Australian continent. Strengthened interstate interconnections (part of the cost of balancing) reduce the impact of transmission failure, which was the prime cause of the 2016 South Australian blackout.
Since 2015, Australia has tripled the annual deployment rate of new wind and PV generation capacity. Continuing at this rate until 2030 will let us meet our entire Paris carbon target in the electricity sector, all while replacing retiring coal generators, maintaining high grid stability, and stabilising electricity prices.
Queensland election is critical for solar energy, and for electricity consumers
Queensland poll could be a show-stopper for solar, and consumers http://reneweconomy.com.au/queensland-poll-could-be-a-show-stopper-for-solar-and-consumers-11958/ By Giles Parkinson & Sophie Vorrath on 24 November 2017 Dirty versus clean; old versus the new; fossil fuels verses renewables; expensive energy versus cheap. There has rarely been so much at stake for an industry as there is in Saturday’s state election in Queensland, and the result is far from clear.
Current polling from Galaxy puts the ALP on track to win the required 47 seats for a majority, but as the Brisbane Courier-Mail reports, this will hinge on a number of factors, including unpredictable preference flows from One Nation supporters.
As at the federal level, politics in Queensland has been heavily focused on energy in the run-up to Saturday’s poll.
The Labor Palaszczuk government – which has a 50 per cent RET by 2030 for the state – has been campaigning strongly around renewables, with a particular focus on increasing rooftop solar uptakeas a way to cut power costs for businesses and homes around the state.
The new policies, launched in late October as part of the Palaszczuk government’s $2 billion Affordable Energy Plan, will offer no-interest loans to consumers wishing to invest in rooftop solar and battery storage, but lacking the up-front capital to do so.
They will also work to give landlords and renters equal access to solar, through a trial initially involving 1000 rental households. Queensland energy minister Mark Bailey said the rental solar scheme had the potential to save tenants up to 10 per cent off their annual bill, or up to $150 a year, while landlords could get a rebate of up to $520 per year.
On large-scale renewables, as we reported here, Labor, has promised to follow through on a program already underway to underwrite 400MW of renewable energy projects.
Following on from this, it has committed to support a further 1000MW of renewable energy projects via a new government power company; and to look to construct new transmission infrastructure in Northern Queensland that would unlock a vast new province of wind, solar and hydro power projects.
On the other side of the political divide, the LNP conservative coalition that is seeking to replace the current Labor government has made its intentions on energy clear: the end of renewables incentives; government money for a new coal generator in north Queensland; and support for the Adani coal mine.
The LNP is also claiming a huge reduction in consumer bills: $160 a year for two years, followed by savings of up to $460 a year in 2020.
But this is largely a mirage, as energy analyst Hugh Grant has pointed out. He noted that the only parties with policies that would deliver price reductions were the Greens, and Labor.
Not that Queenslanders got to read about that anywhere – apart from RenewEconomy, the local media refused to publish the results, as Michael West points out in this piece.
In the Conservative corner in the fight for new coal is federal minister for resources and northern Australia, Matt Canavan, who – recently restored to his portfolio – is as keen as ever to use the federal government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to help fund a new coal-fired power plant in Queensland’s north, as well as to get the Adani coal mine and port project off the ground.
One Nation is also keen to build a coal-fired power station west of Townsville, with party leader Pauline Hanson pledging to commit $1.5 billion to the project, which she wants built in Collinsville – a former coal hub of the state that is more recently turning to large-scale solar.
In fact, according to data gathered for RE’s Renewable Energy Index, the North Queensland region has more power generating capacity under construction than the entire state of NSW, and almost as much as Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia combined.
Meanwhile, Queensland home and business owners are leading the country – which in turn is leading the world – in rooftop solar uptake.
A Climate Council report last month showed that almost one third (31.6 per cent) of all Queensland homes now have solar panels, which puts the state ahead of South Australia, at 30.5 per cent, and Western Australia at 25.4 per cent.
What’s more, there are 14 postcodes in the Sunshine State alone where more than 50 per cent of households have rooftop solar, including the the Moreton Bay region town of Elimbah, where an impressive 63 per cent of homes have PV panels on their roofs.
The Australian Solar Council – newly rebranded as the Smart Energy Council – aren’t resting on their laurels, though. The peak solar industry body is spooked enough about a possible LNP victory that is has launched its own major election campaign, urging voters to put the Coalition last.
“Queensland voters face a stark choice at the election tomorrow,” the SEC said in an email to members on Friday:
“A new polluting coal-fired power station or a solar thermal plant providing 24-hour solar power; no new large-scale renewables and massive job losses or 1,000 megawatts of new large-scale renewable projects in regional Queensland; and a National Energy Guarantee that delivers the longest solar eclipse in history or sensible national energy policy.”
1 This month
4 November – Will AUKUS keep us safe – at what cost?
the Commissioners of the AUKUS Public Inquiry present their findings at the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra. iview.abc.net.au/show/national-press-club-address
Submissions to the federal government’s new draft framework close on the 13th November 2026.
Australians deserve the truth
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AUKUS – https://aukuspublicinquiry.com/
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
