Renewable energy storage roadmap released

Edge Utilities Brisbane City

The CSIRO’s Renewable Energy Storage Roadmap underlines the importance of energy storage in Australia’s journey to net zero emissions.

Despite leading in solar power generation and reducing emissions, Australia requires a significant increase in storage capacity to maintain affordable and reliable energy.

Storage is vital to integrating renewables into the grid and reducing coal and gas-fired generation dependency. A combination of various storage technologies, such as electrochemical, mechanical, chemical, and thermal storage, is needed to meet the evolving demands of the National Electricity Market (NEM).

Increasingly, dispatchable generation must come online as coal-fired generation retires between 2023 and 2035. The CSIRO report calls for accelerated development timelines for projects by 2030. Faster development or alternative storage technologies are needed, as pumped hydro typically takes ten years to develop.

CSIRO’s chief executive emphasises the need for a “massive increase” in storage capacity, estimating an additional 11 to 14 gigawatts by 2030. As a result, the focus should shift to storage as the deadline approaches, exploring repurposing old mine pits and retiring thermal power stations.

This is a summary article from Edge2020 – read the original article.

The team Edge Utilities are passionate about renewables and sustainability, we are energy brokers with an eye on the planet. We are committed to helping councils and business communities reach their net zero goals through renewable power purchasing agreements (PPAs) and smart portfolio management.
To discuss options and plans for your community contact us at save@edgeutilities.com.au  or call us on 1800 334 336 to discuss. 

AEMO’s MLF assessment reveals solar and wind farms as big losers

Solar Panel

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) recently released its final Marginal Loss Factors (MLFs) assessment, highlighting solar and wind farms as the big losers. The MLFs determine how much energy is lost between the generator and the region reference node in each state, and the changes in the new MLF forecasts were primarily driven by changes in availability due to the closure of Liddell, revised return to service dates for Callide C, revised demand forecasts, and the increased penetration of solar and wind generation into the grid.

The lower MLFs impact the amount of revenue generators can make, and many of the intermittent generators have been impacted by changes to the grid and the closure of thermal generators. The location of renewable generation is becoming increasingly important for the success of a project, with unfavourable MLFs potentially reducing the revenue for generators and impacting the renewable energy available to the market.

While a 3% drop in solar farm generation may not seem significant, some solar farms in the New England region have experienced drops that are greater than this. These changes can affect the success of a project and reduce the renewable energy available to the market, potentially leaving end-users with less renewable energy than they signed up for. The final MLF assessment from AEMO underscores the importance of carefully considering the location of renewable energy projects for successful implementation and revenue generation.

This is a summary article from Edge2020 – read the original article.

The team Edge Utilities are passionate about renewables and sustainability, we are energy brokers with an eye on the planet. We are committed to helping councils and business communities reach their net zero goals through renewable power purchasing agreements (PPAs) and smart portfolio management.
To discuss options and plans for your community contact us at save@edgeutilities.com.au  or call us on 1800 334 336 to discuss. 

Tax on coal, gas and new investment

The Private equity company EIG Global Energy Partners is betting big money on gas, offering $18.4b for Origin Energy is which was a ~55% premium relative to its last close price. This premium suggests EIG Global Energy Partners believes gas will set price as the Chairman of EIG stated, “it is willing to ignore government threats of export controls and price caps and invest in Australia for the next 20 years because it believes the nation’s gas resources will play a crucial role in the transition to clean energy”.

As federal politics look to potentially intervene in the domestic coal and gas markets, the investors do not appear to be concerned. It seems the thought process is that gas is a sound investment for the next 20 years as we transition to renewables. No doubt they will be keeping an eye on the regulatory environment but with a track record of investments in the UK and German markets where market inventions are currently enabled, they are in a good position to understand the risks and rewards.

As Origin owns a fleet of gas generators that traditionally operate over the periods where electricity prices are at their highest, it puts them in a position to take advantage of the market, producing and selling electricity at high market prices securing a nice profit.

As entry to the industry and source project finance is difficult, Origin’s gas turbines will have time to continue to produce electricity and make money at these heightened energy prices. With new investment being stalled due to funding constraints pressure on electricity prices will continue to occur.

The question for investors, politicians and the public is, do you view gas as the transitional fuel to renewables? While investors may see a distinction between gas and coal, do the end users of electricity hold similar assumptions?

Edge Utilities offer market leading services for business and strata energy users. We help you navigate the ever-changing energy landscape, focus on renewables and save on your power bills through our Edge Utilities Power Portfolio (https://edgeutilities.com.au/edge-utilities-power-portfolio/). Reach out, we would love to assist you: info@edge2020.com.au or call on:1800 334 336

POWER BILL ON THE WAY UP

With Australia moving back to more lock downs it is interesting to see how COVID is impacting individual households.

Household electricity use has increased by 10% as people have been working from home and as a result household power bills increased by 7%. The bill increases are related to the increased consumption even though the underlying wholesale electricity prices have dropped by 4.8%.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reported that even though household consumption increased it was at the demise of small business electricity use which decreased by 17%.

With wholesale prices dropping they are putting pressure on the profits of the retailers but despite the pressures the ACCC expects household bills to drop further as the wholesale prices flow through to the end user.

Low spot prices following COVID and the penetration of renewable energy triggered profit warnings from Origin Energy, AGL Energy, Stanwell, and Energy Australia.

As safeguards end on 1 July, the ACCC has warned retailers they are obliged to pass on the lower wholesale prices. This is despite the increases experienced in May and June when spot prices increased following the failure at Callide power station.

The “big stick” legislation that started in June 2020, obligates retailers to adjust their prices in line with their costs of securing electricity.

The ACCC is currently investigating several electricity retailers’ prices to see if recent wholesale price reductions were being passed on to consumers.

TAX ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES (EVs)

The Victorian government has introduced a Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Subsidy. The subsidy is designed to reduce the cost of purchasing an ZEV. ZEV’s, which are more commonly known as Electric Vehicles (EVs) are increasing in popularity and the Victorian government would like to see Victorians choosing to buy an EV sooner. Buyers of electric and hydrogen vehicles will be subsidised with the goal of achieving half of all new cars sold to be zero-emission by 2030.

The subsidy is part of the Victorian Government’s Zero Emissions Vehicle Roadmap, a $100 million plan to fast track the transition to ZEVs. To achieve the 50% ZEV target, $46M of funding has been allocated to support the purchase of 20,000 ZEVs. The first round includes 4000 subsidies of $3,000 to reduce the up-front cost of an EV. Further rounds will subsidise a total of 20,000 EVs over the next three years.

Victorian residents and businesses can apply for the first round of the subsidy, with electric or hydrogen vehicle purchases up to $68,740 before on-road costs eligible for the subsidy. More expensive EVs, hybrids, zero-emission motorcycles or heavy vehicles are not eligible at this stage.

The Victorian government has also committed to buying $10M worth of zero-emissions cars over the next three years, this will equate to about 400 vehicles. $19M of funding has been allocated to building 50 EV charging station throughout Victoria.

Previously, the Victorian Government released plans to tax EV drivers 2.5 cents per kilometre driven each year to counteract the expected loss from fuel excises.

An average driver covers 15,000km each year so, the extra 2.5/Km would cost EV drivers an extra $375 each year on top of registration. These changes will take effect from July 2021.

Australia’s first net zero emissions, hydrogen/gas power plant gets the green light.

EnergyAustralia has announced that the expansion of its existing Tallawarra power station in the Illawarra region is proceeding, following an agreement reached with the Government of New South Wales.

Tallawarra B will be Australia’s first net zero emissions hydrogen and gas capable power plant, with direct carbon emissions from the project offset over its operational life. EnergyAustralia will offer to buy 200,000kg of green hydrogen per year from 2025.

The 300+ megawatt power station will be powering New South Wales homes and businesses in time for summer, following Liddell power station’s retirement.

Not only will the new power station deliver reliable power to around 150,000 homes but it will also contribute $300 million to the economy and create 250 well-paid jobs during construction.

“EnergyAustralia has a goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. Today we provide further evidence of another energy project that can help keep the lights on for customers with reliable, affordable, and cleaner energy,” Managing Director Catherine Tanna said.

STANWELL CEO RESIGNS

Just days after the shock announcement that Brett Redman was leaving his role as CEO of AGL, Richard Van Breda, CEO of Stanwell has also resigned.

Richard has been the CEO of Stanwell since 2012 and has led the company through many challenges including potential asset sales, the retirement of Collinsville and Swanbank B power stations, droughts, a drop in the spot and contract prices and COVID-19.

Earlier in the week Richard announced that Stanwell had long term plans to transition from a largely coal fired generator to a renewable energy and storage business.

He said, “We are taking early steps to bring our people, communities, unions and governments together to put plans in place.”  Mr Van Breda also said  “Over the coming years, Stanwell will respond to the renewable energy needs of our large commercial and industrial customers through the introduction of new low or zero emission generation technologies”.

Mr Van Breda will continue full time in the CEO role until May 28 when an Acting CEO will take over and the process to recruit a permanent replacement will commence.

Back to Basics Series – National Metering Identifiers (NMIs)

We’re embarking on a series of posts that go back to basics. As electricity market experts, too often we come across people and / or businesses who lack an understanding of what can and can’t be done in the market. Inevitably we find that it is difficult to educate if the basics aren’t fully understood. 

There is no doubt that energy markets are highly complex. For example, understanding every aspect of the National Electricity Market (NEM) is near impossible. But a solid understanding of the fundamentals is essential if you stand any chance of knowing some of the more complex aspects of it.

National Metering Identifiers

A National Metering Identifier (NMI) is a unique 10 or 11 digit number used to identify every electricity network connection point in Australia. This includes all types of metered and unmetered electricity connections to the physical electricity networks in the National Electricity Market (NEM), Western Australia markets (SWIS and NWIS) and the Northern Territory.

Learning about NMIs and their function is essential. NMIs allow all the relevant players in the market to identify your network connection point and the associated services, costs and service providers associated with it. NMIs and all the data and information associated with them, are recorded in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO’s) Market Settlement and Transfer Solutions system (MSATS), which all key service providers have access to. Put simply, MSATS is the IT system operated by AEMO to fulfil its obligations under the National Electricity Rules (NER). We’ll post on this soon.

Via MSATS, retailers become financially responsible for your NMI in the market, and therefore the costs associated with it. The energy and market costs to AEMO, the network use of system (NUOS) costs to your Network Service Provider (NSP), and the metering costs to your metering co-ordinator (MC). Your retailer is responsible for paying these costs to the relevant providers, and then recovers these costs through charges to you in your retail energy invoice.

Meter data is collected and recorded against a NMI. Any connection related works at your premises must be done with reference to a NMI (for example the installation of embedded generation). NMIs are transferred from service provider to service provider as the preferred party for these services changes, such as retailers and metering providers.

You can find your NMI on your electricity invoice. Noting a NMI will only change if there is a change to the physical connection infrastructure (for example, a change to the connection configuration or voltage) or the physical connection is removed and then later re-established.

In terms of industry speak, NMIs are often pronounced “Nim-ees” or “N M I’s”.

In the coming posts we will focus on the installation of generation at a NMI, including small scale solar PV and larger utility scale installations. How the configuration of generation can influence your consumption requirements from the market / grid and associated regulatory impacts.

Any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 1800 334 336 or email save@edgeutilities.com.au or admin@edge2020.com.au

Engie Expands in Australia

The influx of multinational’s into the Australian renewable energy industry is increasing with historic oil and gas producers such as Shell, BP and Total entering the market.

These global energy giants are making large acquisitions to expand their local presence in the clean energy sector. In a world where developers are struggling to bank projects the strong balance sheets of these companies is a welcome addition to the industry.

Engie is the most recent multinational company to expand in Australia with the purchase of development rights to the $750 million Hills of Gold wind project in northern New South Wales.

This project is the foundation development in the newly created Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) in New South Wales’s New England region. This REZ is the first REZ to be created under Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) vision.

The acquisition of the Hills of Gold Wind Farm will add 420MW into the region. The project was previously developed by Wind Energy Partners.

Engie is one of the world’s largest electricity utilities, with the French multinational operating more than 115GW of generation capacity globally, including a 19GW portfolio of renewable energy projects.

The project will consist of 70 6MW wind turbines and will be connected to the transmission network between Liddell and Tamworth.

Engie has previously owned power assets in Australia, being the operator of the brown-coal Hazelwood power station in Victoria that was closed in 2017. They have ambitious targets for Australia, hoping to develop 2,000MW of Solar and wind projects.

Engie has recently set up the Australian Renewable Energy Trust with Infrastructure Capital Group and Mitsui as a renewable investment vehicle. The trust contains Engie’s 119MW Willogoleche wind farm and it is likely the Hills of Gold project will be added to it.

Green Star Building Rating Reject Gas

In a major overhaul of the Green Building Council of Australia’s (GBCA) Green Star rating system, Australian buildings hoping to achieve the gold standard for sustainability will now have to ditch gas.

For buildings to achieve the highest 6 star rating, the building will be required to be fossil fuel free and 100% renewable powered.

The Green Star rating system was launched by the GBCA in 2003 as an independent and voluntary certification system that assesses the sustainability of construction projects across all stages of their life cycle.

Green Star rated buildings have been recognised as having a higher standard of sustainability and energy efficiency than buildings that meet the National Construction Code.

The industry has supported the need to eliminate carbon emissions from buildings and construction to meet obligations under the Paris Agreement, this has resulted in the new focus.

Atlassian, the company behind energy-savvy billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes has signed on to use Green Star Buildings for its flagship new Sydney headquarters.

The new ratings will push for electrification however emerging technologies, such as green gas will be beneficial to reaching the higher standards as it aligns with Australia’s goals in energy transformation and emissions reduction.