14 May 2021
Much of the system planning in place by the market operator AEMO, the rule maker AEMC and the Energy Security Board (ESB) are examples of the “muddle through” approach to policy development.
Despite its quirky name ,“muddle through” was actually first introduced into the academic literature by Charles Lindblom in a 1959 Public Administration Review Article, and it has remained as a viable “theory” for the last 70 years.
What this means in practice in the Australian electricity industry is that policies are developed to deal with problems either after the problem has occurred or just before. The focus is nearly always on solving the immediate problem. The end goal is assumed to be unknown or not relevant to solving the problem.
Quest Events
Leaders of Australia’s energy industry, government ministers and department representatives will gather in Melbourne next week for Australian Energy Week on 25-27 May.
Australian Energy Week brings together over 90 speakers in 60 sessions with an audience of almost 400 senior managers from 150+ organisations.
The conference sessions will cover the biggest issues facing the length of the energy supply chain, covering feedstock, generation, transmission, distribution, retail, end use, policy and regulation.
There will be a series of keynote presentations, case studies and interactive panel discussions in what will be the most significant discussion with representatives from the energy industry in 2021.
12 May 2021
Australia’s fleet of ageing coal fired generators are going broke and are likely to become less reliable in the future as operators stop maintaining them, according to the chair of the federal government’s key energy advisory body.
Chair of the Energy Security Board, Kerry Schott told the Smart Energy Conference on Wednesday that there was no need to worry about the ongoing presence of coal fired power stations in the electricity market, telling the conference that economic pressures on incumbent generators was mounting and will push them out of the market.
“The coal generators are going broke. So those of you who are worried about coal retiring, please don’t. It’s happening, and it’s happening for commercial reasons,” Schott said.
12 May 2021
Australia officially met its 2020 renewable energy target in late January, passing the revised target of 33,000GWh – despite long delays in several major projects.
Clean Energy Regulator’s Mark Williamson said the country fell a “fraction short” of the target in 2020, when some 32,300GWh of “new renewables” was produced, and the 33,000GWh target was passed on a “rolling 12 months basis” by the end of January.
“The first thing I can do, and it’s great to do this in face to face, is to officially declare that the large scale renewable energy target or 33,000 gigawatt hours, has been met,” Williamson said.
There was little talk of the climate crisis or the environment in Tuesday’s budget, perhaps because the Morrison government has succeeded in framing them as side issues. But once you dig into the detail there is plenty to know. Here are some key points. Will there be a green recovery? Not based on this. There has been a global push for a climate-focused move to kickstart economic growth from the pandemic, pushed by the International Monetary.