Australia’s power problem

Are blackouts really looming by the middle of this decade? An AEMO report warns they might be – but there are plenty of projects on the drawing board that will help ease the squeeze on the grid.

Not all power resides in the ACT

The ACT is suffering from the same energy problems as New South Wales and Victoria, and proper planning is required to ensure security of supply in the future.

Researchers serve up climate change solution

An international team of researchers has discovered a cost-effective way to generate electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions – while also reducing air pollution.

Will Victoria run out of power next summer?

Despite the scare stories, a detailed investigation of Victoria’s power and storage capacity suggests that power shortages are unlikely next summer.

Heresy: The government’s lack of electricity energy policy is probably a good thing

The lack of coherent Federal policy on electricity is probably a good thing, and any new federal policies are likely to be costly, out of date long before they are introduced and actually counterproductive.

The hard part of soft power

Australia used ‘soft power’ to enhance its regional interests long before the term was invented, but how should DFAT reassert its ability to control the narrative within the machinery of government itself?

Tasmania’s ‘Battery of the Nation’ is an expensive boondoggle in the age of distributed resources

While pumped-hydro storage can play a role close to existing transmission infrastructure or centres of demand, the process remains expensive and inefficient. Investment in more renewable generation on the mainland would therefore be far more effective than Tasmania’s proposed ‘Battery of the Nation’ scheme.

The darkest hour for the NEM?

The government’s failure to pursue a proper national energy strategy is undermining the National Electricity Market.