The Good, Bad and Downright Ugly of Australia's Energy Transition | Deep Dive Australia 09: Anna Freeman & Michael Liebreich

Australia has become a laboratory for the energy transition, what can the rest of the world learn? After two weeks travelling across Australia and meeting the leaders shaping its energy transition, Michael Liebreich got a close up view of the country’s transformation.

For the final episode of Cleaning Up’s Deep Dive Australia series, the host becomes the guest as Anna Freeman of the Energy Efficiency Council turns the tables and puts Michael in the hot seat to ask him what he has learned.

Michael divides his takeaways into the good, the less good and the “downright ugly”, from Australia’s extraordinary rooftop solar and battery uptake to its struggles with wind, transmission and diesel. He also asks whether the country really can become a clean energy superpower, and what its successes and failures can teach the rest of the world.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Australia’s rooftop solar advantage
• Why batteries are beating gas
• The missing middle of electrification
• Can transmission keep up?
• Australia’s expensive wind problem
• The China challenge
• Breaking the diesel addiction
• Why EVs may be finally taking off

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live

Australia Deep Dive Episodes:

• Darren Miller: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBhkBTZ9lSI&t=2s
• Chris Bowen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYtapcSdZOo&t=132s
• Marc England https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tKVSJcS_SI&t=2s
• Lily D'Ambrosio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVGL9vVTdeY
• Ross Garnaut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmcm2M5eRxk&t=35s
• David Pocock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgbq5r3XTJY
• Paul Simshauser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZKxb2TnD04
• Martin Green: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgqXnnvlMFg

Links:

• Anna Freeman’s bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annafreeman1/
• The Energy Efficiency Council: https://eec.org.au
• Subscribe to our newsletter: https://cleaninguppod.substack.com/
• Stats on Seaborne Trade of diesel: https://ieefa.org/resources/oil-shocks-expose-limits-monetary-policy
• John Pettigrew on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Lg1A958aA&t=5s
• Tim Meyerjürgens on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQgUuJ-dx78&t=16s
• Leo Birnbaum on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa-DHuPNEDg
• Andrew Forrest on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYQmEipY5Wc

Acronyms:

• IRENA: International Renewable Energy Agency
• EMA: Energy Market Operator
• DNSP: Distribution Network Service Provider
• REZ: Renewable Energy Zones
• AEMO: Australian Energy Market Operator

Chapters:

• 00:00: Intro
• 05:45: Solar Adoption
• 10:25: Big Batteries
• 13:41: The Missing Middle
• 19:26: Transmission Grids
• 21:35: Australia’s Wind Problem
• 32:43: China’s Superpower
• 40:53: The Diesel Addiction
• 45:24: EV Adoption
• 52:58 Lack Of Transparency
• 56:19 Michael’s Highlights
• 01:14:00: Outro