Hey Reader, in today's edition: Tracking phantom data centres Marie Jordan on the grid 'balancing act' Sustainability Victoria no more Reality check for data centres The strain on the NEM from data centres might be overstated because it is based on connection requests, not finished projects, according to a new analysis from Oxford Economics Australia. Interest is not the same as build-out and six in every seven megawatts of connection requests could wind up being ‘phantom demand’. In August,...
1 day ago • 8 min read
Hey Reader, in today's edition: Rule maker eyes home battery benefits Keeping the lights on at the right price Principles for public funding of green projects Rule maker projects price of getting transition wrong Further delays to wind and transmission projects along with prolonging the life of existing coal-fired power plants threaten to add 25% to annual household electricity prices, according to new analysis from the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC). The rule maker adds its voice...
2 days ago • 8 min read
Hey Reader, welcome to The Energy's weekly data newsletter. This week we kick off our regular seasonal review of the energy mix in the NEM and SWIS. Spring break Renewable energy came within a whisker of parity with fossil fuels in the eastern states National Electricity Market grid mix for Spring 2025, as the transition defied the naysayers. Western Australia’s South West Integrated System also came close to parity, driven by a huge surge in utility solar generation. In the NEM, big jumps in...
3 days ago • 5 min read
Hey Reader, in today's edition: The price of instability Sharan Burrow on the re-industrialisation opportunity Don't miss Energy Tetris Mind the gap New investment in system security is needed as coal plants exit but that doesn’t necessarily mean opting for gas tech, experts say, responding to the market operator’s latest assessment. Meanwhile, the peak body for generators, the Australian Energy Council, continued to argue for an inertia market "to offer more options and realistic solutions...
4 days ago • 7 min read
Hey Reader, in today's edition: A VPP boost Eraring closure still under a cloud Defining the role for a consumer duty ‘Democratising energy’ with VPP tech A Western Australian start-up will go nationwide with discounted loans for rooftop solar, home batteries and access to virtual power plant (VPP) technology under a $35 million deal with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Funded under the federal Home Energy Upgrades Fund (HEUF), the new offerings from Starling Energy Group, which...
5 days ago • 7 min read
Hey Reader, welcome to The Energy Week, your chance to catch up on this week's most important energy news. Prefer to listen? Get The Energy Week on your favourite podcast platform. THE ENERGY WEEK • EPISODE 11 A step closer on faster approvals 06:00 MORE INFO This week's top energy news This week the pre-Christmas deluge took hold with an eleventh-hour deal on environment protection laws, a rethink on the reliability standard and fresh warnings of the step-up in projects needed to meet...
7 days ago • 5 min read
Hey Reader, in today's edition: Hard work just beginning on planning reforms Downward pressure on reliability standard Warning from Australia's climate tsar Deal brokered for more sustainable development More than five years after a landmark review found Australia’s environmental laws were broken, and an aborted attempt at changes during the Albanese government’s first term, parliament has agreed to a package of environment protection law reforms. But the hard work has just begun, with new...
8 days ago • 10 min read
Hey Reader, in today's edition: Planning reforms get heated Wholesale retail contracts explained Energy rebates for Christmas ‘Make-or-break’ moment for faster project approvals Australia’s top climate and biodiversity researchers issued an open letter to break ranks with bosses at the Group of Eight (Go8) most elite Australian universities for backing the business and mining lobby’s position on changes to environment protection law. “This week is critical, make-or-break for environmental law...
9 days ago • 8 min read
Hey Reader, welcome to The Energy's weekly data newsletter. This week we explore the "Goldilocks" challenge of gas as the government considers a new reservation policy. Make a reservation The east coast gas market is hurtling towards a policy intervention deemed unthinkable even during the worst of the supply crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — reservation for domestic customers. Tentative interventions by former and current governments sought to cajole Queensland’s...
10 days ago • 6 min read