Europe has now issued more than USD500 billion in green bonds, a tsunami of investment cash, some of it heading into a wind or solar farm near you. Green or climate bonds are the same as conventional bonds: financial instruments issued by governments, banks and companies to raise money which is then invested in climate-related …
Rising global tensions in the South China Sea have led the UK Government to consider cutting China out of multi-billion dollar plans to develop new giant nuclear power stations in Britain. The arrival of a British carrier group in the South China Sea reflects a physical escalation in the UK’s rejection of China’s claims over …
In March this year the Victorian Government announced it had struck a deal to close the Yallourn coal fired power station four years early, in 2028. The details of the deal with the power station owner, EnergyAustralia (EA), remain confidential, described by Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio at Budget Estimates in June as “commercial in …
AGL has been an important company in Australia’s energy market. It was a pioneer of large scale renewables development and is still the largest renewables investor in Australia. It is the biggest generator and seller of electricity. And it now appears to be in serious commercial trouble. As the biggest coal generator, AGL is also …
After a mild summer contributed to the lowest Q1 prices in the NEM since 2012, concerns about price spikes are suddenly back on the agenda. All mainland regions of the NEM have seen significant price volatility in the last couple of months. Clearly a factor is the tightness of supply due to outages and reduced …
Victoria’s ageing Yallourn brown coal fired power station could be flooded for the third time this century, risking the sudden removal of 1,480MW – around 20 per cent – of the state’s generation as it heads into the winter demand peaks. Worried? The market doesn’t seem to be, with the Victorian price of caps – …
Dramatic events unfolded on Tuesday evening in Queensland, as a fire broke out in CS energy’s Callide C coal-fired power plant. Fortunately, no-one was injured as a result, although the unit was severely damaged. While the loss of a large coal unit is a major shock to the system it is the kind of situation …
Controversy has reigned over the Energy Security Board’s recent suggestion that the best way to ensure reliability in the NEM is via a physically-backed version of the existing Retailer Reliability Obligation (RRO). Many of the opponents of the proposal have sought to portray it as a subsidy to coal plants. Is this a fair description? …
Is the Energy Security Board proposing to introduce a coal subsidy? Read More »
AEMO recently updated its Electricity Statement of opportunities (ESOO) to reflect the agreement between Energy Australia and the Victorian Government to close the Yallourn brown coal power station in 2028. Unsurprisingly, the forecast is that Victoria will need investment in new dispatchable generation by the time of Yallourn’s closure to replace the 1,480 MW plant, …
