Escaping energy policy limbo

After a week of uncertainty with energy policy, it was welcome news that a Strathmerton business is taking a step forward and embracing renewable energy.

Like many businesses, Booth Transport must have felt the financial sting from energy prices that continue to rise year on year.

In the pages of The News these stories are common, with many large-scale businesses facing tough decisions as the cost of power goes up and up.

Booth Transport decided to try something innovative to lower the power bills for its Strathmerton depot, and lower its carbon footprint at the same time.

Through an environmental user agreement with Moira Shire Council and the Sustainable Melbourne Fund, a state-of-the-art Tesla Powerpack was installed to help store energy from onsite solar panels.

On paper it seems to be an agreement where everyone wins.

Moira Shire Council does not have to pay for the installation, but helps loan repayments via its rates system.

Booth Transport does have to pay back for the expensive installation, but with power prices on the rise it could benefit in the long run.

And with the company expected to eventually employ up to 77 people at the Strathmerton site, less financial pressures from increasing power bills has to be good workers.

And let’s not forget the point of the expensive battery and solar installation, which is not just to lower power prices, but to lower carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

Although there are beneficial steps from individuals and businesses, any environmental gain is a drop in the ocean compared to action by governments.

Australia has had a tumultuous couple of years politically, as endless debate about climate policy has caused the premature political deaths of many leaders. 

After much debate, the former Gillard Government introduced a carbon tax which came into effect in 2012.

Seen as a broken promise in the electorate, the tax was abolished by the Abbott Government, but despite promises, power prices did not go down.

The country is currently in a state of limbo on energy policy, and uncertainty on future policy settings has led to a lack of investment in new power generation.

This, in turn, has been blamed for a rapid increase in power prices.

After much debate, both in parliament, and most probably within the coalition party room, Malcolm Turnbull unveiled his new energy policy earlier this week.

The National Energy Guarantee, or NEG, promises to increase supply and reduce emissions, but not in a way that will increase power prices.

The Prime Minister still needs to convince the Australian public it is the way to go.

But until there is more certainty on energy policy federally, companies like Booth Transport will take matters in their own hands to lower emissions (and the power bill).

Editorial from today’s Shepparton News - “Escaping energy policy limbo."

Baffled by baseload? Dumbfounded by dispatchables? Here’s a glossary of the energy debate

Australia’s energy market is a prominent fixture in our daily news cycle. Amid the endless ideology and politics swirling around the sector, technical terms such as “baseload power” and “dispatchable generation” are thrown around so often that there is a danger the meaning of these terms can get lost in the public debate.

High-voltage power lines stand near an electricity substation on the outskirts of Sydney.

The term “energy crisis” is bandied around quite loosely with some confusion around whether the crisis is about prices or security of supply. The politics of this are infernal and largely avoidable if all sides of politics had paid consistent and principled attention to energy policy over the 20 years since the formation of the National Energy Market.

It’s worth setting the record straight on the meaning of some of these terms and how they relate to climate policies, new technologies and the progression of market reform and regulation in Australia.

This glossary, which is by no means exhaustive, is a first step.

Read the piece on The Conversation - “Baffled by baseload? Dumbfounded by dispatchables? Here’s a glossary of the energy debate."