The price of renewable energy will fall significantly relative to new-build coal in coming decades, making an all-renewable electricity system more desirable, both economically and environmentally.
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Articles on Power prices
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Not everyone can afford to pay for solar panels up front, but local planners can help disadvantaged households overcome energy poverty in several ways.
The Turnbull government is still tying itself in knots over the future of coal, as literally decades of policy turmoil on climate and energy continue to roll on.
Western Australia has huge amounts of sunshine and wind, yet only 7% of its energy comes from renewables. What’s more, most households in the poorest suburbs are still locked out of the solar panel boom.
The government’s deal with electricity retailers to provide simple information to customers about their discounts and bills is a welcome step, but doesn’t cut to the heart of the power price issue.
Bedding down an energy security policy based broadly on the Finkel model is now crucial for Malcolm Turnbull. But the issue will also test Tony Abbott’s judgement and influence, in what has long been a…
South Australia has unveiled its keenly awaited energy plan, featuring battery storage, a state-owned gas power station, and a thumb of the nose to the federal electricity rules.
Electricity retailers need to make their prices and offers more transparent and easier for customers to understand, or risk having to submit to price regulation to drive down bills.
Here’s the real problem behind Australia’s electricity woes: the rules that govern decisions about what infrastructure to build, and when, are inflexible and outdated.
Privatisation and competition were supposed to make electricity cheaper. Instead, Australia’s quasi-federal energy system has made it easier to pass the buck when things go wrong.
South Australia’s government was angry about the blackouts enforced by electricity regulators. But with much of the state’s gas power offline, the regulators had little choice.
Power-hungry houses that rely on air conditioning to make up for their bad design mean that the electricity grid has to cope with summer demand peaks – and everybody pays.
The potential shutdown of Victoria’s Hazelwood power station could leave a large gap in coal-fired baseload generation. But other coal power stations have plenty of spare capacity to fill the gap.
The electricity market that covers most of Australia is designed to have periods of high prices, to attract new generators. But there may be better ways to encourage electricity investment.
Labor’s plan to deliver 50% renewable energy by 2050 could add between $160 and $264 to annual household power bills. But this could be completely offset by better policies to encourage energy efficiency.
A year after the demise of the carbon tax, we might expect both coal and greenhouse emissions to have bounced back, at the expense of renewables like hydroelectricity. Sure enough, that’s what happened.
Both sides of the electricity privatisation debate are guilty of cherry-picking so-called “facts” to suit their campaigns, rather than presenting the real story to voters.
Incentives for cutting peak power demand are cheaper than building ever more infrastructure and sending power bills ever higher. The industry has a chance to embrace this new approach - but will it?
During Melbourne’s recent spell of hot weather, my air conditioner got a workout after a long hiatus. Technically it’s a split system that also could have been used during winter, but like many Melbourne…
There’s been much talk about how uncertainty over the future of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) is affecting the renewable energy industry. Investment in renewable energy is at its lowest level since…
Top contributors
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Honorary Associate Professor, Centre for Climate Economics and Policy, Australian National University
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Energy Fellow, Grattan Institute
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University
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Senior Research Associate, Renewable Energy & Energy Systems Analyst, UNSW Sydney
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Senior Associate, Grattan Institute
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Senior Associate, Productivity Growth, Grattan Institute
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Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute
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Visiting Fellow, SPRU, University of Sussex Business School, University of Sussex
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Productivity Growth Program Director, Grattan Institute
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Research Manager, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
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Professor of Human Geography and Planning, University of Tasmania
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Professor, Monash University
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Emeritus professor, Australian National University
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Honorary Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney
