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https://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-moment-how-trumps-fossil-turn-can-supercharge-our-energy-revolution/>
"This week, the global climate movement is in mourning. Under Trump’s reign of
executive orders, not only has the US out of the Paris Agreement, but they’ve
bulldozed a $300bln wind energy project pipeline and promised to desecrate the
incredible climate progress under the IRA.
Already, sceptical commentators are calling on Australia’s political contenders
to follow suit, abandon climate concerns and double down on ‘bread and butter’
issues ahead of this election.
But what they fail to realise, is the incredible opportunity this now presents
for Australia.
On the back of our Climate election only three years ago, the Albanese
government introduced one of the most ambitious energy transition plans
anywhere in the world. To shift Australia from generating over two thirds of
our electricity from coal and gas to a country run on 82% renewable energy by
2030 was and remains a truly transformational vision for the decade.
Straight off the bat, investors rushed in. South Korean steel giant POSCO
announced a $60 billion green steel investment plan, and the Clean Energy
Council reported more than $6 billion in new clean energy investments in 2022
alone.
However, not only was oil and gas-fuelled inflation about to send capex costs
through the roof, but the Biden administration was busy negotiating the final
elements of one of the world’s biggest investment plans in history, backed with
over $124 billion (AUD) in direct public investment, and close to $2 trillion
AUD of clean energy subsidies and loans.
This IRA-inflation matrix sent Australia’s new renewable energy investments
into a spiral. Inflation was up. Housing costs went up. The cost of electricity
was going up.
By the end of 2023, annual new investments in Australian clean energy projects
had hit their lowest point since 2017, with Australians being crushed by the
fossil fuel price hyperinflation, thanks to Putin. Money was incredibly hard to
come by, and the USA had laid a trillion dollar pillow for investors to rest
their weary heads.
Throughout 2024, we’ve seen this headwind shift. With inflation beginning to
ease, and eye-popping cost reductions in solar modules and batteries,
investment is back. The Clean Energy Council is now projecting 2024 to be a
bumper year for new energy investments, with $3.3 billion committed in the
third quarter of 2024 alone.
But we still have an incredibly long way to go. At the end of last year, the
Climate Change Authority warned that “Australia is currently deploying
renewable energy infrastructure at about half the annual rate needed to reach
the 2030 renewables target”.
They also warned that there remains an 8 GW gap in our estimated 33 GW of
additional renewable energy needed to meet the 82% target. Climate Energy
Finance takes a more optimistic view, reporting we are halfway to delivering on
Minister Bowen’s 82% by 2030 vision, with six years to go.
That is where we need to heed the words of Adam Smith’s era-defining tome."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
