energy – Michmutters
Categories
Australia

Energy ministers from across the country meet to establish a new framework for transition away from coal

State, territory and federal energy ministers have started the process for significant reforms to Australia’s energy future.

The ministers met on Friday in Canberra where they received a briefing from energy market operators and the consumer watchdog on expected gas and electricity shortfalls in 2023 and 2024.

On top of the agenda was the establishment of a new National Energy Transformation Partnership (NETP) to better collaborate on Australia’s transition to greater reliance on renewables in the electricity grid.

Federal Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced that as part of the new NETP, emissions reduction would be included in the national energy objectives for market operators.

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Mr Bowen said the decision would send a “very clear” message of certainty to investors and would ensure emissions reduction is at the forefront of every aspect of energy market operators’ functions.

“This might not sound much, this is the first change to the national energy objectives in 15 years this is important,” he said in Canberra on Friday.

“It sends a very clear direction to our energy market operators that they must include emissions reduction in the work that they do.

“And the message of certainty to investors in renewable energy and transition and storage around the world that Australia is open for business, Australia is determined to reduce emissions.

“And we welcome investment to achieve it and we will provide a stable and certain policy framework.”

The ministers also agreed to extend the powers of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to better manage east coast supply shortfall risks.

It will also provide AEMO with the option of direct market participation ahead of winter 2023.

In its interim gas report, the Australian consumer watchdog warned of a serious shortfall in natural gas in 2023.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commissions (ACCC) said LNG exporters needed to redirect excess supplies to the domestic market or Australia would risk its energy security heading into next year.

It comes after AEMO intervened in the Victorian gas market to redirect excess supply from Queensland producers to avoid mass shortages in the southern state – using its emergency mechanism for the second time in history.

The ministers joined the ACCC in calling for producers to redirect excess gas to the domestic consumers rather than the lucrative export market.

NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean said it was a “non-negotiable” for his state when it came to protecting households and businesses.

“What we don’t want to see is domestic gas producers prioritizing profits and exports ahead of local users, that is a non-negotiable for us in New South Wales,” he said.

“There is going to be a shortfall in gas in 2023 and 2024. That shortfall needs to be met.

“And what we need to do is prioritize Australian gas for Australian gas users ahead of companies making super profits and exporting that gas offshore.”

His Victorian counterpart Lily D’Ambrosio shared the concerns and said the country produced “more than sufficient gas” to meet domestic needs but “too much of it was sent overseas”.

“And that’s got to change and that’s really the task of all of us and we’re all up for it. And we’ve all agreed about how we can go about doing that,” she said.

On top of the gas market reforms, the ministers also discussed a future capacity mechanism to ensure firming power in the grid during the transition away from coal.

Senior federal and jurisdictional officials have now been charged to provide options for a framework which delivers “adequate capacity, ensures orderly transition, and incentivises new investment in firm renewable energy.”

“Ministers intend to take a more active role in delivering the firming capacity needed as the system transforms and consider the best means to manage the risks of a disorderly exit of coal generation,” the joint communique said.

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Categories
Business

Federal government will cover cost of connecting massive new Queensland wind farm to national grid

The federal government has agreed to cover the multi-million-dollar cost of connecting what will be one of the world’s biggest wind farm precincts to Australia’s power grid.

Its investment arm, the Clean Energy and Finance Corporation (CEFC), has committed $160 million to connect the Southern Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), to the national electricity market.

The REZ currently consists of two projects in the Southern Downs — the 103-megawatt Karara Wind Farm, controlled by state government-owned renewable generator CleanCo, and the 923MW Macintyre Wind Farm, owned and operated by renewable energy firm Acciona.

It requires 65 kilometers of overhead transmission lines and two switching stations to be connected to the energy market.

Powerlink – the company in charge of managing and running Queensland’s power network – began constructing the infrastructure in March.

Queensland Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said CEFC will absorb the cost and that the new investment would unlock up to 500MW of network hosting capacity.

“Connecting the massive project to the national grid not only unlocks $2 billion worth of investment, it also increases reliability of power across the three east Australian states, with clean Queensland-made energy,” he said.

High tension power lines on steel towers in a paddock at Oxley Creek Common at Rocklea on Brisbane's southside.
The deal will improve capacity in the energy grid.(ABC News: Chris Gillette)

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the investment was a “game changer.”

“A better future is powered by cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy,” he said

“This CEFC investment is a game changer when it comes to hooking these new sources up to the grid … and we want to see more of it,” he said.

This is the first partnership between a Queensland government-owned company and the CEFC.

Federal Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said it would increase renewable supplies to households and businesses in southern Queensland and the east-coast of Australia.

A shot of a wind turbine from below.
Connecting the wind farm precinct to the grid is a “game changer”, Mr Chalmer says.(ABC News: Philippa McDonald)

“The best way to put downward pressure on energy prices is to ramp up investment in renewables, transmission and storage and that is exactly what this $160 million commitment will do,” Mr Bowen said.

The Macintyre wind farm precinct is expected to be operational in 2024.

Mr Chalmers did not commit to a time frame on when households and businesses would benefit from the infrastructure.

“Clearly, projects of this size and this significance can’t be turned on overnight and require some kind of run-up.

“But what this investment means [is] it will be delivered faster than otherwise,” he said.

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Categories
Australia

Commercial fishers eyeing compensation as six offshore wind farm zones get green light

Trawl fishers have ramped up calls for compensation following the federal government’s announcement that it will establish six offshore wind energy zones.

Waters off Gippsland, Portland, the Hunter Valley, Illawarra, northern Tasmania, Perth and Bunbury have been earmarked for development.

But fishers are concerned they will be excluded from the sections of the ocean where the turbines are built.

The most progressed wind farm proposal is the Star of the South project in Gippsland.

“I think it’s obvious that Australia is moving to a lower carbon future,” South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association executive officer Simon Boag said.

“The problem we have is that the federal government has already given out rights … to go commercial fishing.

“Then they appear to be giving out a second set of rights to put in wind farms.

“The two are obviously to some extent mutually exclusive.”

An offshore wind farm
If built, the Star of the South wind farm may resemble Veja Mate in Germany.(Supplied: Star of South)

Bottom line for fishers

Mr Boag’s organization represents the interests of owners, fishers and sellers in the trawl fishery of south-eastern Australia.

He said fishing or quota rights sat “in the balance sheets of fishing businesses”.

“Fishing businesses borrow against them. They’re bought and sold between fishing businesses,” Mr Boag said.

Fishers already work around oil and gas platforms in Bass Strait.

Mr Boag said the exploration phase for new oil and gas developments was intrusive for the industry, but the longer-term exclusion zones were only a few hundred square meters.

“These wind farms are more or less a 500-square-kilometre exclusion,” he said.

“We’re assuming trawlers can’t go in there.

“What we need and want is that if we’re giving up our rights to go fishing and they’re going to build a wind farm and we’re all going to enjoy the electricity … that the fishing industry is adequately compensated.”

A 60-day consultation period was initiated alongside last week’s wind energy zone announcement.

Star of the South acting chief executive officer Erin Coldham encouraged people who used the waters to engage in the consultation process.

She said Star of the South’s turbines would be between seven and 25 kilometers from the coast of Woodside Beach, McLoughlins Beach and Port Albert.

“We’re aiming to get power into the grid by the end of this decade and we think that’s important, noting Yallourn [power station] is closing by 2028,” Ms Coldham said.

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Categories
Australia

Rural ecovillage harvests timber from nearby forest, with houses made from recycled materials

In the Fryers Forest, around 50 kilometers south of Bendigo, one group of residents isn’t feeling the rising cost of living as hard as most.

Hamish MacCallum is one of 30 people who live in a rural ecovillage, nestled in the forest in Fryerstown.

Standing in the kitchen of the house he built himself, he proudly explains the kitchen bench was a cypress tree that fell on a local farmer’s property during last year’s storms.

“[It’s about] taking a waste product, a fallen down tree, and turning it into something beautiful,” he says.

“The whole kitchen is recycled.

A man standing in kitchen, kitchen made from timber
A lot of the kitchen cupboards came from someone else’s kitchen.(ABC Central Victoria: Shannon Schubert )

“All the cupboards and drawers, everything came from other kitchens that had been pulled out.”

There’s no heater inside, with the firewood stove in the kitchen emitting more than enough heat to warm the house.

“That’s only been running now for about half an hour,” Mr MacCallum says at 10am.

“It’s generating our hot water and providing us with an oven and a stovetop for cooking on as well.”

A man putting firewood into an oven
Powered by firewood, the house’s stove and oven generates hot water and cooks the family’s meals.(ABC Central Victoria: Shannon Schubert)

Mr MacCallum estimates his power bills are a third of the price of the average family’s electricity bills.

“I’m spending $150 on electricity for three months for the two households,” he says.

“It’s $100 a year for the gas bill.”

The bushfire management consultant and landscape designer put a huge amount of thought into designing and creating the house, with insulation and solar passive design a main priority.

“With a solar passive design, it’s using the sun to heat or cool the house by including or excluding it at particular times of year,” he says.

What looks like a cabin, with wood and roof of foyer room made from wood
The entrance to the houses, also a mudroom, was made from recycled wood, including old furniture.(ABC Central Victoria: Shannon Schubert)

Timber from surrounding forest

Mr MacCallum has become an expert at reusing and recycling.

The house is made from 50 per cent recycled and reused materials, most of which were locally sourced.

On the verandah, two pieces of wooden ‘bush poles’ were eleven trees on this block of land.

A photo of the front door
The two wooden poles were trees on this block of land, which used to be a quarry.(ABC Central Victoria: Shannon Schubert)

Other pieces of wood were collected and stored from unexpected places.

“A lot of the timber came from a timber furniture maker who decided to give up his profession and sell it all on,” he says.

In the Fryers Forest eco-village, residents do forestry work, harvesting timber from the forest around them.

“Our expense is the time we spend collecting the wood from the forest, when we’ve done some tree thinning,” Mr MacCallum says.

A picture of the middle wall of the house, which is mud brick, bordered by wood from trees
The mud brick wall, made from milled timber from the site, collects heat in winter and cool air in summer.(ABC Central Victoria: Shannon Schubert)

“Always when we’re doing forestry, we get the highest value out of the timber as possible.

“Each season, we cut enough to provide the whole village with enough firewood to last them a season.

“The firewood [for the stove] is just a good solid day’s labor and a few days of forestry [work].”

A photo of a wooden frame of a house, when straw was being added as insulation
Some of the materials used for insulation include straw and wool.(Supplied: Hamish MacCallum )

Mr MacCallum refers to the concrete floor as a ‘thermal mass’ which holds the heat and keeps the house warm in winter and cool during summer.

In the middle of the house, a mud brick wall has the same function.

“It stores the cool over the summer and the heat over the winter and then releases it back into the household so you can wake up in the morning without any heating and the house will still be warm,” he says.

“The eaves that overhang the north side of the house, where most of the windows are, stop the sun coming into the house.”

Sharing food eliminates waste

Mr MacCallum’s family shares the house with another family, with two separate living quarters under the one roof.

Their efforts to live sustainably, with as little waste as possible, mean sharing a bathroom, laundry and food.

“A part of our strategy is to buy in bulk foods and to store in a big freezer,” he says.

“I might go hunting and harvest a lot of meat and then store the meat, the fat and the bones … make bone broth or render the fat down into lard or tallow and use that for cooking.”

A man watering a conservatory garden with a hose.
The conservatory stays hot and is able to mimic a tropical climate, for optimal growth conditions.(ABC Central Victoria: Shannon Schubert)

He’s also committed to growing his own fruit and vegetables.

“80 per cent of our fruit and veg can come from [the garden] here,” he says.

But recently Mr MacCallum has been sourcing more of his produce from his local market, rather than his own garden.

“I help him [the seller] pack up and we get to take home a whole heap of fruit and vegetables,” he says.

“Sometimes that means that I’ve got to spend hours or preserving that produce.

“[Sometimes] that’s a few months’ worth of passata bottled and stored in an afternoon.”

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Hamish MacCallum has built his house using 50 percent second hand materials(ABC Central Victoria: Shannon Schubert)

Built to withstand bushfire

Mr MacCallum has spent years teaching others how to retrofit their houses for bushfire safety, so it was always going to be front of mind in designing and building his own eco-friendly house.

“I wanted to demonstrate how landscapes can reduce bushfire risk and be productive at the same time and beautiful at the same time as well,” he says.

Everything in his yard was planted for bushfire mitigation.

Fruit trees border his backyard, providing a heat shield against the fire front.

“The fruit tree hedge, also protected by the stone wall from radiant heat, acts as a heat and ember filter, as well as wind protection for the fruit and vegetable garden,” he says.

It may have taken years to build, and countless tutorials and tradesmen to help him learn new skills, but Mr MacCallum was never going to shy away from the challenge of living as sustainably and efficiently as possible.

“I wanted to take a piece of degraded land and turn it back into something beautiful and productive,” he says.

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Categories
Business

Norseman solar project sees towns switch from diesel to part solar in battery rollout

With already high petroleum prices expected to rise even further this year, solar projects that will shift dependency away from diesel are underway in several West Australian regional towns.

Energy provider Horizon Power has announced it would build a centralized solar farm and battery in Norseman, about 720km east of Perth.

The 758 kilowatt solar farm would consist of 1,400 panels and would house a 336 kilowatt-hour battery energy storage system.

On completion, the project would see just over 24 per cent of the town’s energy sourced from renewable energy.

Currently, the township relies entirely on a diesel-generated power station for its electricity.

Dundas Shire President Laurene Bonza said a development application had been lodged with the council.

“It looks like solar and renewables are going to be the way of the future and we get a little bit of a jump on that,” she said.

“Hopefully, it will mean our power is reliable and we are doing our bit.”

If approved, construction was expected to get underground early next year.

A woman in a white tshirt leans on a statue of a horse
Laurene Bonza says a development application has been lodged.(ABC News: Rosemary Murphy)

The diesel power plant would then be used to ensure supply.

Demand for energy was expected to increase with a gold mill currently under construction in the area.

“The mine has already extended the old power station and added in a couple more diesel generators to make sure we so don’t end up in the dark,” Ms Bonza said.

“Este [solar farm and battery] should make sure we never end up in the dark.”

There was an extra incentive to switch to renewables when the federal government’s temporary cut to the fuel excise tax was removed at the end of September.

regional roll-out

The Norseman solar project was part of a broader roll out in which Horizon Power planned to install centralized solar and battery storages systems in the mid-west towns of Cue, Sandstone, Meekatharra, Mount Magnet, Wiluna and Yalgoo.

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Categories
Business

Potential curb on Australian LNG exports is another blow to Asia-Pacific gas markets

The Asia-Pacific gas market has suffered another blow after major natural gas producer Australia signaled it could potentially cut down liquified natural gas exports as the region battles tight gas supplies, high prices and competition from gas-short European buyers.

Australia is looking to trim its overseas sales in favor of domestic consumption ahead of a projected shortfall in local supplies next year

As energy protectionism takes hold globally, last week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission called on Canberra to protect domestic gas supplies and curb LNG — cooled natural gas — exports after projecting the east coast of the country could face a shortfall of 56 petajoules of gas next year.

For months, the Asia-Pacific region has faced competition for fuel from European buyers looking to replace restricted Russian gas.

These European countries, in scrambling for LNG to mitigate a shortage of pipeline gas ahead of the northern winter, have outbidden some less developed Asian countries.

“To protect energy security on the east coast we are recommending the Resources Minister initiate the first step of the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism (ADGSM),” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said last week.

“We are also strongly encouraging LNG exporters to immediately increase their supply into the [local] market.”

A liquefied natural gas tanker berth in Japan, on Dec. 17, 2021. Should Japan ever exit the Sakhalin energy projects in Russia and their stakes were acquired by Russia or a third country, this would weaken the effectiveness of Western sanctions and benefit Russia, Japan’s industry minister said on Friday.

Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Most of the gas used on Australia’s east coast is produced by companies that are also LNG exporters to Asia-Pacific and other countries. The ADGSM stops these producers from exporting LNG if there is a shortfall domestically.

While most LNG sales to overseas buyers are made through long-term contracts, Australian LNG producers also sell ad-hoc and non-contracted LNG on the spot market. Countries without the ability to strike competitive long-term contracts are forced to buy them on the spot market.

It is this LNG supply that the ACCC says producers should avoid selling to the overseas market — currently flushed with gas-starved buyers — and save it for local consumers.

Gas lobby group the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association however has assuaged markets, saying despite the ACCC warning, there is more than enough gas next year and that there has never been an actual shortfall previously.

“It’s certainly been the case throughout the existence of the export industry, that there has been a surplus of gas into the domestic market. So we have been able to achieve both. We don’t go for the idea that it is one or the other,” acting chief executive Damian Dwyer told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Tuesday.

“There’s been significant investment into the export industry. And that investment has brought on significant domestic supply. One complements the other.”

But if the mechanism is successfully invoked, new supply and price pressures will be felt by the region’s biggest LNG buyers such as Japan and South Korea as well as newcomers to LNG imports such as the Philippines, analysts say.

LNG prices have soared nearly 80% since before the Ukraine war started in late February, according to the Platts JKM pricing index.

“Since April, there had been no [spot] tend sales from the three major LNG export facilities on Australia’s east coast, indicating that some exports were slowing down,” S&P Global Market Intelligence APAC LNG pricing regional manager Kenneth Foo said.

The Philippines is entering the global LNG market at a time of extreme uncertainty. Global LNG supply is constrained due partly to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and LNG prices continue to hit record highs.

Sam Reynolds

Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis

“The lack of spot availability from East Coast Australia could in turn further tighten LNG supply within the Asia-Pacific region, especially heading into peak winter demand season in the fourth quarter,” Foo said.

Developing Asian countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan have had to bow out of buying LNG on the spot market, Sam Reynolds, an analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said.

“Inability to procure LNG volumes in these countries has caused fuel shortages and blackouts, pushing countries to the brink of economic collapse,” he said.

The Philippines, a debutant to the LNG import market, will face tough conditions when it tries to import its first ever shipment of LNG, he adds.

Read more about energy from CNBC Pro

“Inability to buy LNG at competitive rates could leave new terminals and LNG-fired power plants unused and stranded,” he said.

Such setbacks may derail the Philippines’ efforts to boost its LNG sector, already suffering from years of setbacks, Reynolds says.

While countries without long-term contracts like the Philippines may suffer, generally the region’s LNG supply is secure.

Proposed cuts are small

The proposed Australian cuts amount to roughly 14 LNG charges. This is a drop in the ocean of contracted charges shipped each month. In July, Australia exported 100 cargoes among over 300 cargoes shipped into Asia, Reynolds says.

“Cuts would only limit exports of LNG that is not sold under long-term contracts. This means that cuts would have minimal effects on buyers like Japan, Korea, and China, which buy 70% to 80% of their LNG via long-term contracts,” Reynolds said.

LNG markets have bigger problems than Australian curbs. Europe’s jostling for Asia-Pacific’s LNG supply remains the biggest threat, Reynolds says.

Consequently, the rise in energy prices globally have contributed to the surging inflation that many central banks are racing to rein in.

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Categories
Australia

Experienced migrants struggle to find jobs as industry cries out for skilled workers

When Vitaly Bazarov and his wife Anna Shmatko moved to Melbourne in June, they knew they could have a better life for their daughter than they would have in Ukraine.

Speaking through an interpreter, Ms Shmatko said, “I’m a Ukrainian patriot, but I fell in love with Australia the moment I got here.”

After being displaced by the war in Ms Shmatko’s home country, the pair came to Australia with their daughter Mariia, and used Facebook to make friends and find support.

But despite being an experienced boilermaker and diver, Mr Bazarov has been unable to find employment.

A man in a wet suit is underwater looking at the camera
Vitaly Bazarov is an experienced diver and underwater videographer.(Supplied: Anna Shmatko)

“This is a great country, but the services are expensive, I am really hoping one of my past careers can help me find a profession here so I can better support us,” he said.

Ms Shmatko believes employers discount her husband’s qualifications because English is not his first language.

“Finding the right people who will appreciate his skills and what he can do has been so hard,” she said.

Since arriving, the couple have been improving their English and actively seeking employment.

One of the ways they have been looking for work is through online groups on social media that aim to help refugees and immigrants settle into Australia.

A man holds his young daughter, they are on the beach pointing to the waves
The couple and their daughter have started new lives in Australia.(Supplied: Anna Shmatko)

It was through one of these groups the pair met Svetlana Khaykina, who volunteers her time to help people who have recently arrived find work and understand the Australian job market.

Writing CVs for refugees

Ms Khaykina, an engineer living in Port Hedland in WA, grew up in Belarus and can communicate proficiently with people from other Slavic language groups.

She has written over a dozen resumes for people, including Mr Bhazarov.

A woman and two children smile at the camera
Svetlana Khaykina uses her industry expertise and Russian to help new arrivals find work.(Supplied: Svetlana Khaykina)

“Writing a CV is a very new thing for a lot of people when they first arrive; most people have no idea to start, it’s not a practice in Ukraine,” she said.

“I can see that Vitaly is extremely marketable especially in places like Port Hedland, he just needs to be given a chance.”

When Ms Khaykina sees job opportunities posted online, she tries to connect employers with immigrants and act as a translator if needed.

In her view, one of the biggest hurdles besides the language barrier is Australia not recognizing overseas certifications.

“People like Vitaly have decades of relevant experience, but even if he finds work he’ll probably have to work at a lower position like a trade assistant which doesn’t require certification,” she said.

Australia needs workers

Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association (AREEA) data suggests the country will need at least 20,000 more workers to join the resources and energy sectors by the end of 2027.

Western Australia will require at least 11,250 of these employees.

AREEA chief executive Steve Knott said the industry was battling the worst skills crisis in a generation.

“Simply, unless industry and government can find some creative solutions, the skills crisis facing not only the resources and energy industry, but all sectors of the Australian economy, will persist for years to come,” he said.

Ms Khaykina said the wide range of highly skilled refugees arriving in Australia was mind boggling, but what was more surprising was the lack of job offers.

“Living in Port Hedland I know there’s a huge labor shortage and as an engineer I’m coming across welders, fitters, engineers, construction workers and all sorts of people.

“But they’re not being given a chance,” she said.

“Especially in Hedland, we need divers like Vitaly to do pile repairs and maintenance, we are always looking for more people with those skills.”

What support is available?

Ms Khaykina said with no end to the war in Ukraine in sight, she would love to see more effort from the Australian government to help resettle people.

“In my understanding there’s about 10,000 Ukrainians in Australia, while 9 million have fled the war; it’s such a great tragedy,” she said.

“When they do get here, they have limited humanitarian visas.”

The Department of Home Affairs said it had granted more than 8,600, mostly temporary, visas to Ukrainians in Ukraine and hundreds elsewhere.

A spokesman said Ukrainian nationals in Australia who were unable to accept the offer of a Temporary Humanitarian Stay could access other visa options.

The government had provided $450,000 to the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations to assist their work to support those arriving in Australia, the spokesman said.

And more than 1,300 Ukrainians had registered with the government’s Adult Migrant English Program, aimed at assisting new migrants and humanitarian entrants to learn English language skills.

Ms Khaykina believed if the government supported qualified refugees and immigrants to secure skilled work it would help solve the skills shortage and provide Ukrainians with a better life in Australia.

While assistance in finding skilled work could be limited, Ms Khaykina said support was available through community legal services.

Victoria Malyk, a migrant support worker in the Pilbara, said there was assistance for those who had recently arrived.

“I can respond to their needs such as help with employment and English lessons through the Settlement Engagement and Transition Support program or SETS.”

A man and a woman with a young girl smiling at the camera, aquarium is in the background
The young family say the community support has been phenomenal.(Supplied: Anna Shmatko)

The program is available to eligible clients, such as refugees and skilled regional workers in their first five years of living in Australia.

From Ms Malyk’s perspective, one of the biggest barriers facing these people are restrictions for some visa holders in accessing subsidized TAFE courses.

She said they usually could not afford high commercial fees.

“Further training is often needed for recognition of prior learning and overseas qualifications,” Mr Malyk said.

For now, Mr Bazarov will keep looking for work where he can use his decades of experience.

“We just need a chance,” he said.

“Once we find somebody who knows the industry and recognizes my skills, I’m sure they would want to take me, I’d be a great asset to any company.”

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Categories
US

Here’s how the Inflation Reduction Act’s rebates and tax credits for heat pumps and solar can lower your energy bill

It’s not the prettiest, or even most fulfilling, part of upgrading a home. But more energy-efficient heating, cooling, power and water usage can net savings that really adds up for household budgets and for doing right by the planet.

Congressional action this weekend and into next week looks to return more incentives, mostly via tax credits and rebates, to the pockets of homeowners who opt for energy-efficient choices, replacing fossil-fuel furnaces, boilers, water heaters and stoves with high-efficiency electric options that can be powered by renewable energy.

Read: Senate passes Democrats’ big healthcare, climate and tax package after marathon session

Of course, more of the nation’s electricity grid, currently run on natural gas NG00,
-2.15%,
along with lingering coal, and expanding wind and solar ICLN,
+0.76%,
will have to be powered by renewable energy for home upgrades to be truly green. But, alternatives are rising in use, and home efficiency has long been considered a good place to start.

The bill, a long-fought and greatly-downsized Democrat-crafted spending bill now known as the Inflation Reduction Act, includes rebates or a tax break for qualifying consumers who add efficient heat pumps (which, despite their name, move cold air around too ), rooftop solar, electric HVAC and electric water heaters.

The IRA was passed Sunday in the Senate and now makes its way to the House next week, where it is expected to be approved by a narrow majority for Democrats in that chamber. The Republicans who have opposed the bill have done so based on disagreements, they say, with the level of spending, but also because some support US oil and gas production on the grounds of cost savings and global security. And Democrats did agree to a future look at expediting environmental approvals for fossil fuels and clean energy.

“American families need relief from Democrat policies that attack American energy, send utility bills soaring and drive up prices RB00,

at the pump,” said Sen. Barrasso, a Republican of Wyoming who is a ranking member on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Climate Nexus, an advocacy group, says a survey has shown 67% of voters support providing tax credits and other incentives to homeowners, landlords and businesses to purchase appliances that don’t use fossil fuels (such as electric water heaters, heat pumps, and electric induction cooktops).

What’s in the Inflation Reduction Act for home energy?

The legislation provides for $9 billion in total energy rebates, including the $4.28 billion High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program, which returns a rebate of up to $8,000 to install heat pumps that can both heat and cool homes, and a rebate up to $1,750 for a heat-pump water heater. Homeowners might also qualify for up to $840 to offset the cost of a heat-pump clothes dryer or an electric stove, such as a high-efficiency induction range.

Read: Gas stoves targeted as US congressman alleges consumer watchdog has sat on decades of worrisome health data

and: More and more right-leaning Americans worry about climate change, but aren’t ready to give up gas stoves

Many homes will need their electrical panels upgraded before getting new appliances, and the program offers up to a $4,000 rebate toward that initial step.

“A household with an efficient electric heat pump for space heating and cooling, a heat pump water heater, one electric vehicle and solar panels would save $1,800 a year,” says Jamal Lewis and team, writing a brief on the legislation for the organization Rewiring America.

“These savings will be reflected in lower monthly energy bills, reduced bill
volatility and a lessening of disproportionately high energy burdens within disadvantaged communities,” Lewis said. “Importantly, these savings add up — so much so that if a household invests their energy bill savings from electrifying their home appliances, these savings will grow to over $30,000 after 10 years and $140,000 after 25 years (assuming an 8% annual return). ”

There are also funds in the IRA to be claimed for smaller actions: a rebate of up to $1,600 to insulate and seal a house, and a rebate of up to $2,500 for improvements to electrical wiring.

The program, to be administered at the state level, will run through Sept. 30, 2031, and homeowners would be able to collect a maximum of $14,000 in total rebates. To qualify, household income cannot exceed 150% of the area median income.

For homeowners who do not qualify for the rebates, the IRA provides for a tax credit of up to $2,000 to install heat pumps. And, installing an induction stove or new windows and doors, for example, qualifies for tax credits up to $1,200 a year.

What are heat pumps exactly?

Electric heat pumps, which replace a furnace, for instance, are energy efficient because they don’t create heat by burning fuels but rather move it (during the heating season) from cold outdoors to warm indoors. The downsides can include upfront costs and their suitability for all regions.

Still, over its lifetime, electric heat pumps generally offer the cheapest way to cleanly heat and cool single-family homes in all but the coldest parts of the US in coming decades, according to recent research from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). In very cold places, the analysis finds, electric heat pumps with an alternative fuel backup for frigid periods minimize costs.

“Our findings are good news for consumers and for the climate. Electric heat pumps, which heat and cool, are the cheapest clean heating option for many houses, especially now that we have cold-climate models,” says Steven Nadel, report coauthor and ACEEE’s executive director.

Cold-climate models, an advance in the technology, operate efficiently at temperatures as low as 5°F. Their energy costs, however, are minimized if an alternative fuel backup kicks in when it gets colder than 5°F for long periods.

EPA Energy Star program

EPA Energy Star program

The analysis finds that higher-income households are more likely to minimize costs with electric heat pumps, because they have newer—and more likely, single-family—homes with air-conditioning and improved energy efficiency.

The group backs congressional help for low- and moderate-income households, whose homes are often the most difficult to decarbonize. Notably, ACEEE calls for help to reduce the costs of ductless electric mini-split heat pumps in multifamily buildings.

And what about solar?

The legislation revives a 30% tax credit for installing residential solar panels and extends the program until Dec. 31, 2034.

The tax credit would decline to 26% for solar panels put into service after Dec. 31, 2032 and before Jan. 1, 2034.

What’s more, homeowners who install solar battery systems with at least three kilowatt-hours of capacity would also qualify for the tax credit.

The heating-and-cooling provisions are in addition to tax credits of up to $7,500 for the purchase of a new electric vehicle TSLA,
-6.63%

F,
-0.46%
and $4,000 for lower- and middle-income families who purchase a used EV. Early versions of this spending bill included help for e-bikes, but they are excluded in the final. Read more about those EV incentives.

Other programs

Homeowners can look beyond federal programs.

Safak Yucel, assistant professor of operations management at Georgetown University, who studies government policies relating to renewable energy and carbon emissions, said legislative uncertainty given the long slog to get this bill passed, and the risk that executive action is challenged in the courts, means that state and city incentives, and those offered by utilities, may make homeowners more assured.

“A lot of state governments, a lot of cities, they offer quite lucrative deals,” he said. “When it comes to rooftop solar, for example, Massachusetts comes to mind, which is not necessarily the sunniest of states, right, but they have quite a significant adoption of rooftop solar panels thanks to these state-level policies. I think as consumers look forward, they are more likely to see even broader involvement from state governments.”

Website EcoWatch, for instance, allows users to search by zip zode and ranks solar-friendly states.

Will incentives nudge consumer buy-in?

Broadly speaking, the new bill is meant to return more green technology manufacturing back to the US by tagging $60 billion to accelerate domestic production of solar panels, wind turbines and batteries, as well as support the critical minerals processing that are a must-have for the batteries that power EVs and help households leverage their solar power.

More domestic production could help alleviate the supply-chain issues that have hobbled markets during the COVID-19 recovery, and it could create more jobs, all of which is seen helping Americans “green up” their homes and businesses at a lower cost historically, bill proposers argue.

Biden has said the US will work to align with most major economies in the world, hitting net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and at least halving current emissions as soon as 2030.

“Electrification will play a crucial role in decarbonizing homes, but the transition will happen slowly as long as inexpensive fossil fuels are widely available,” says Lyla Fadali, an ACEEE senior researcher.

Targeting manufacturing changes can also trickle down to consumers.

“Rather than focusing on whether or not a consumer will buy into the product at this point, what we’re seeing is that the consumers’ hand is sort of going to be pushed over a certain amount of time because so many manufacturers and producers are incentivized to build more solar, more EVs and so on,” said Shannon Christensen, an attorney and a tax and accounting specialist editor with Thomson Reuters Checkpoint, an online research platform.

“When gasoline-powered vehicles came into popularity in the beginning, nobody wanted to switch from their horse and buggy. It took quite some time to get consumers at that time to go over into that new technology. And I think we’re seeing the exact same thing,” Christensen said. “But the technology is getting good enough. And Congress has made it available to lower-income folks and through tax credits. I think that you’re going to see a [demand] shift, and I think it will rise quickly.”

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Categories
US

Energy prices have dipped, but oil stocks are still a buy: Investor

Oil prices have fallen sharply from their recent peaks, but there’s still a case for buying oil stocks, according to Bill Smead, chief investment officer at Smead Capital Management.

That’s because energy prices are likely to stay high or even increase further, he told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Thursday.

He described the slide in crude prices as “the first significant correction” in a bull market that started in the spring of 2020 after prices crashed.

“You have this huge move, you go from $20 a barrel to $120 and then you pull back — and now people are going, ‘Oh yeah, that’s all over, that’s going to cure the inflation right there,'” Smead said.

We like the oil stocks here. You can buy ’em here, Warren Buffett is buying it here.

bill smead

Chief investment officer, Smead Capital Management

But several factors suggest that prices are going to increase, he said.

The US has to replace 180 million barrels of strategic reserves that were drawn down to meet demand, and supply remains tight, he pointed out.

“What happens when China’s economy gets open in full … get past their quarantines and just get out,” he asked, suggesting that demand will come back up again.

Covid flare-ups in China have spurred lockdowns this year, and caused consumption of energy to drop in the world’s most populous country.

Read more about energy from CNBC Pro

Demand will likely to spring back when more movement restrictions are eased.

“We like the oil stocks here. You can buy ’em here, Warren Buffett is buying it here,” Smead said.

Brent crude futures and US West Texas Intermediate futures both soared to levels above $120 per barrel this year, but are now at $96.88 and $90.88 per barrel, respectively.

Still, both benchmarks are more than 40% up from a year ago.

— CNBC’s Thomas Franck and Yun Li contributed to this report.

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Categories
Australia

‘Disgusting’: Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi slams former prime minister Paul Keating’s attack on Adam Bandt

Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi has labeled comments made by former prime minister Paul Keating about Adam Bandt as “disgusting” and “disappointing”.

Mr Keating dubbed Mr Bandt a “bounder” and a “distorter of political truth” after the Greens leader said Labor is a “Neoliberal” party during a National Press Club address on Wednesday.

Senator Faruqi came to the defense of her leader and supported his comments about the characterization that Labor has become more “neoliberal” over time.

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“I think the attacks on Adam’s character like this are frankly pretty disgusting and disappointing,” she told the ABC on Thursday.

“There is no doubt that over the last three or four decades Labor have adopted neoliberalism.”

Mr Keating ridiculed Mr Bandt’s assertions, pointing to a range of “mammoth changes”, including Medicare and compulsory superannuation, enacted under Labor.

“How could any reasonable person describe the universality of Medicare as an exercise in conservative neoliberalism,” Mr Keating told Nine newspapers.

“Or providing the whole Australian community, every working person, with mandated capital savings leading to substantial superannuation assets and retirement incomes.

“How could any reasonable person describe these mammoth changes as ‘neoliberalism’, a word associated with the likes of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.

“And more than that, the world’s leading system of minimum award rates of pay, a safety net superintended by the Fair Work Commission – a Keating government creation. Again, hardly an exercise in neoliberalism.

“But Bandt is a bounder and a distorter of political truth.”

Mr Bandt confirmed his party’s support of the Climate Change Bill – which enshrines its emissions reduction target of 43 per cent by 2030 and net zero by 2050 into law – during the National Press Club address.

However, he said the Greens would still challenge the government to end fossil fuel production.

“To be crystal clear, the Greens have improved a weak climate bill,” Mr Bandt said during on Wednesday afternoon.

The Greens had initially threatened to block the bill over the “weak” 43 per cent 2030 emissions reduction target and concerns that it could be ratcheted back by future governments.

Labor then amended the bill to clearly enshrine the 43 per cent target as a floor – or a minimum requirement -rather than a ceiling to higher goals, but the Greens continued to steadfastly refuse to support the legislation if it failed to act on coal and gas .

Ms Faruqi flagged their support for the legislation showed it can still work with the government despite having differing opinions.

“We clearly have disagreements with Labor and a whole range of policies but we have shown that we want to work in good faith the way we can and our negotiations on this bill are a prime example of that,” she continued.

“It has now improved with the genuine floor, which means that the target cannot go backwards.”

The bill will be sent to the Senate where it is now expected to pass when Parliament returns in September.

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