Australia has enough gas reserves to supply the next 25 years’ demand. Federal pressure to lift state bans on onshore gas development is pointless, risky – and won’t bring prices down.
Gas buried in the Northern Territory’s Velkerri Shale was produced in a “slime world” that existed nearly a billion years before the first complex life on Earth evolved.
Chief Scientist Alan Finkel has attempted to address the energy ‘trilemma’: electricity that’s cheap, reliable and low-emissions. Has he succeeded? Our expert panel weighs in.
Earlier this year Australia’s energy market operator warned of a gas shortage, sparking fears of an energy crisis. But new research shows the projected shortfall is so small, it may already be closed.
By 2030, the Blue Economy will be worth $3 trillion. And the UK is well placed to capture a slice of this lucrative market, if it meets the challenges involved with innovation and ambition.
Energy security requires both short and long planning. Recent gas and hydro announcements are a promising start towards some proper joined-up thinking.
Local communities are likely to be dissatisfied with the report from the PRRT review because its recommendations only apply to future projects and won’t herald any changes in the budget.
The current domestic gas crisis will pass. But if the industry wants to surpass coal and fulfil its role as a ‘transition fuel’, it should lobby for a carbon price to help it on its way.
Carbon capture and storage gets a bad rap from its associations with ‘clean coal’. But the technology could prove vital in cutting emissions from other industries like steel, cement and chemicals.
The current flurry of energy policy aims to make power cheaper and more reliable. But it will take more than that to meet vital longer-term goals like cutting carbon while keeping future prices low.
Malcolm Turnbull has threatened to use the Commonwealth’s power over exports against gas producers if they do not carry through with undertakings to make more gas available for the domestic market.
Jeffrey Sommerfeld, Queensland University of Technology
South Australia is investing $550 million in a plan to improve the reliability of its electricity. But the side-effect is that the National Electricity Market will now be even harder to run.
Malcolm Turnbull on Wednesday will pressure the gas industry to increase the supply available to the domestic market, as the government scrambles to get together a viable national energy policy.
Professor of Health, Safety and Environment, Queensland University of Technology and Professor of Practice in Environmental Wellbeing, Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy and Services) and Honorary Professor (School of Geosciences), University of Sydney
Fellow - Melbourne Law School; Senior Researcher - Climate Council; Associate - Australian-German Climate and Energy College, The University of Melbourne