Day 80: 'Rhetorical warning shot'
An introductory weekday newsletter from Schwartz Media. Counting the days since Australia had an energy policy.
Good morning and welcome to day 80.
Today in summary: Energy company CEOs and Energy Minister Angus Taylor meet in Sydney for a roundtable on electricity prices; a renewable energy plan for the Kimberley region could save money and avoid fracking; and the US midterm election results are hotly awaited, with climate change measures on several ballots.
— Sophie
Today’s policy spin level: 💨💨💨💨
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Energy Minister Angus Taylor is meeting with energy retailers in Sydney today to push them to cut power prices by January 1st, and both sides have come out swinging ahead of the roundtable. Taylor has been threatening the companies with the “big stick” of divestment, and ahead of the meeting the CEOs have said network charges and renewable subsidies are a bigger cause of high bills than the profits they take. Taylor told The Australian:
“We want to see the ‘loyalty tax’ that is being charged to so many families and businesses … we want to see it gone … and we want it to start on January 1. We will gauge how aggressively we need to move on our legislation based on the outcome of January 1. This is the industry’s chance to do the right thing.”
Green activists are lobbying for a clean energy plan in the Kimberley region which it says could save A$14.8 million and avoid fracking for more gas. It would involve A$449 million of investment in wind turbines, solar panels and battery storage across the region. The plan’s backers say that saving figure is conservative because the cost of renewables and batteries are falling rapidly.
The first of the US midterm exit polls are starting to come in, though the results won’t be known until later today at the earliest. Alongside the race for the Senate and the House, several states are voting on climate change measures, including Nevada and Arizona with renewable energy mandates, and Washington state, with a carbon emissions fee. In Texas and Florida, climate change has become a major campaign issue for both Republicans and Democrats.
The Commentariat
Trust between big business and Parliament is at an all-time low, as industry is “agitated” by what it sees as scapegoating by the Morrison government and uncomfortable with what could come from a Labor government, writes Matthew Stevens for the AFR. The mining industry has warned Labor not to remove the 40.1 cents per litre rebate it gets for diesel, in a move that Stevens says:
“might seem just that little bit provocative. But, given all that has preceded it in the distant and nearer past, who could blame the industry for firing a rhetorical warning shot across the bows of a future Labor government.”
The saltbush has untapped potential as both a tool for inland carbon management and an alternative source of pig feed - an attractive prospect for China, which has been hit by US tariffs on soybean-based feed, writes The Australian’s Robert Gottliebsen. Saltbush can extract carbon from the air and store it in its roots and the surrounding soil, and with China as a potential buyer of the matured plants, an investment opportunity has emerged.
Three more things
Dispatchable wind power will be a reality in the US within three to five years, due to emerging utility design and regulation, according to a new report from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. Senior analyst Daniel Finn-Foley said:
“Wind developers who don’t consider wind-paired-storage in their long-term planning are likely to be left behind as markets adjust and storage costs continue to drop”
Japanese trading firm Mitsui & Co will consider selling their 10 per cent share in Australia’s Bengalla thermal coal mine “if there is a good opportunity.” Mitsui has previously said they will not invest in new thermal coal mining projects due to pressure to reduce the world’s reliance on fossil fuels, but would continue to invest in coking coal for use in steel manufacture.
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and Environmental Justice Australia have asked the Australian Energy Market Commission to change a rule which allows pipeline operator Jemena to recover construction costs of their Northern Gas Pipeline from consumers. EJA’s David Barnden says that the current rule exposes customers to over $2 billion in costs and should be removed to improve the market.