Business leads the energy transition

Polls apart

“There is still good reason to feel positive, due to the rising support for renewables among the community, business, local councils and state governments.

Big businesses are standing up, going to 100 per cent renewables. And financiers are backing renewable energy projects rather than plants that pollute.

We know that renewable energy delivers the cheapest electricity into the market and that renewable storage technologies like pumped hydro energy storage can provide market firming and be delivered at a significant discount to the market spot price for coal.

What this tells us is that economics wins.

Business, financing and the grass roots community is driving the change.”

John Grimes

The economic rationality for renewables remains the same. They are cheaper.

AN ORDERLY TRANSITION to renewable energy may sometimes seem unlikely, but there is good reason to feel positive based on rising support for renewables among the community, business, local councils and state governments.

As usual business is way ahead of government and getting on with the job of transitioning the economy to a clean energy future, Smart Energy Council Chief Executive John Grimes says.

In recent months big players including the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, Bank of Australia and Atlassian have joined the global RE100 commitment to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.

“Big businesses are standing up, going to 100 per cent renewables. And financiers are backing renewable energy projects rather than plants that pollute.”

He also pointed out the economic rationality of the move to renewables given the rapidly declining cost of solar, storage and electric vehicles.

“We know that renewable energy delivers the cheapest electricity into the market and that renewable storage technologies like pumped hydro energy storage can provide market firming and be delivered at a significant discount to the market spot price for coal.

“What this tells us is that economics wins. It is business, financing and the grass roots community that is driving the change,” John Grimes said.

Oliver Yates who ran a strong campaign as an Independent candidate on a climate change and integrity ticket in the federal seat of Kooyong concurs with John Grimes, telling Smart Energy “The economic rationality for renewables remains the same. They are cheaper. “The need to accelerate the renewable energy industry has not gone away – every day it gets more urgent and there are more opportunities.

“People can clearly see the evidence of the impact of climate change on the environment which is becoming more extreme. The declining state of the Barrier Reef and the Menindee Lakes drought are among the casualties.

“These will continue to worsen, it won’t get any better. The trajectory is for more extreme climatic and environmental events.

“If people want to ignore the situation they can, but it won’t go away … people at the grass roots are recognising that climate change is significant,” he says.

Manly beach (pictured left) – voters in the Warringah electorate have thrown their support behind action on climate change

Moving forward

Following the election ANU Professor Frank Jotzo issued a reminder about the business community’s aversion to an economy that’s stuck in the past, and in concert with the Smart Energy Council Jotzo highlighted the pressure from progressive states that are critical of the climate and energy policy void.

The world will not “carve out a niche for Australia to continue prospering as a 20th-century style high carbon economy”, he says. Global demand for coal will fall. The future for our energy industries is in cheap renewable energy.

“With effective policy, things could be very different. We could build up an industry that produces green hydrogen, ammonia, aluminium and steel for export to countries less fortunate than Australia in their endowment with renewable energy opportunities.

“Those industries could grow larger than the coal and gas industry now is. They could last indefinitely and help the world decarbonise.

“The opportunities in the global shift to clean energy are compelling, and coal is not the future.”

The Australia Institute’s Ben Oquist says the Senate is where government policies can live or die, and it was the Senate that prevented Tony Abbott from gutting the RET and abolishing the CEFC and ARENA, protecting $23.4 billion worth of renewable energy investment.

Independent MP Zali Steggall who ran a strong campaign for action on climate and won the hearts, minds and votes of a more progressive electorate has vowed to emphasise that the cost of climate inaction is greater than the cost of action.

As a friend and ally of the Smart Energy Council, she has pledged to be a strong voice in Parliament on climate and renewable energy.

Prudent paths

Meanwhile the Australia Institute (www.tai.org.au) is ramping up its research capabilities to demonstrate that renewable energy is key to Australia’s economic growth and coal mining is not a jobs panacea.

With a change in the energy market rules the ceiling on renewable energy could be lifted and drive down power costs, TAI declared.

After the election the Australian Conservation Foundation issued a heartfelt statement reminding those in the community who care about climate action that progress is being made even if sometimes it doesn’t seem like it.

ACF messages mirror those of the Smart Energy Council.

“Investors are largely shunning new thermal coal projects. Renewable energy costs are falling rapidly.

“At some point Australia must reconcile the action needed to halt the climate crisis and crash of nature with our deficient national plans and policies.”