Pre-budget LNG and diesel rebate tax reform & The Green Metal Statecraft report
Spark Club Podcast
Highlights – The SEC Sydney conference Brilliant to see a full house standing room only for Minister Bowen’s talk. Great to have >8000 attendees to the wider trade hall and >100 speakers over two days in up to 8 theatres concurrently. So many people pulling in the right direction, reinvigorating. Highlights – Fuel Tax Credit reform Whilst the Albanese government has ruled out FTC reform in next TUES budget, it is still a campaign CEF and our allies are working extensively on, maybe for MYEFO Dec’2026. Brilliant to see Twiggy, Chair of FMG, give a SEC keynote speech, and more...
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Australia's energy crisis silver linings
Spark Club Podcast
Highlights – The Business Leaders Forum at Boao, China Tim attended the Boao Forum in Hainan Island, China, joining an Australian delegation that included Oliver Yates, Frank Jotzo, Justin Punch, Jenny Selway, Geoff Brooks, Andrew Forrest and six members of the FMG green team, and Australian Ambassador to China Scott Dewar. China's stated position remains one of full commitment to electrification and decarbonisation. Highlights – PRRT Reform The ACTU continues to call for a flat 25% tax on Australian LNG to replace the The Petroleum Resource Rent Tax, with the objective of...
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Australia missing out on China's $120b global investment blitz - Tim Buckley Ep66
Spark Club Podcast
Grant McDowell is in London and Tim Buckley is in Sydney recording the Spark Club Podcast on the 23rd March 2026 Highlights – Draft AER Default Market Offer Brilliant to see the Australian Energy Regulator has today flagged draft default market offer (DMO) electricity pricing down ⬇️ 1% to ⏬ 10% for residential consumers, and between ⬇️ 8% to ⏬ 21% for small business consumers The DMO sets an efficiently priced safety-net for households and small businesses on standing offer electricity plans and acts as a reference price to help consumers compare market offers. This is the...
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Local Content Push - 20% for wind towers in Australia - Tim Buckley - Ep65
Spark Club Podcast
Grant McDowell & Tim Buckley– Spark Club Podcast 19 Feb 2026 - Hi and welcome to Spark Club podcast. I’m your host Grant McDowell. We are recording this podcast on the Garigal lands of the Eora nation and pay our respects to elders past and present. Welcome. And welcome Tim Buckley. Highlights Domestic firmed RE deployment The demonstrates a rebound in large-scale renewable energy and storage investment across Australia. The quarter delivered record commissioning outcomes across generation and batteries, strong financial close activity. Five renewable generation projects...
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Setting the Stage for 2026 - Tim Buckley Ep64
Spark Club Podcast
Quick 2025 retrospective We see the Climate Energy Finance’s role as to provide a narrative difference to the mainstream media, and to try to leverage global / non-US developments to better inform Australia’s understanding of the energy system transformation, the threats and opportunities for Australia. Our three main pillars of conversation in 2025 were; China BESS - Batteries were likely to surprise, and they certainly did, even CEF’s most bullish expectations. Australia’s opportunity to go faster with some wins and many frustrations. And Carbon peaked emissions in 2024, flat to...
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Can Australia lead the way in Green Steel? - Tim Buckley Ep63
Spark Club Podcast
Spark Club Podcast Ep 63 -21st Nov 2025 Hosted by Grant McDowell and guest this week, Tim Buckley Highlights BESS deployments booming Batteries are the biggest disruptive force in global energy markets in 2025. Australia becomes world’s third-largest utility battery market. Rho Motion reports Grid-scale BESS market saw 12.7GWh of new capacity enter operations globally in October 2025, +29% y-o-y. Meanwhile, global YTD deployments have reached 156GWh, +38% yoy. China led new operational capacity with 8.8GWh of utility scale BESS added in the Oct 2025 month – double what Australia will do...
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Al Gore says stop Australia's diesel fuel subsidy - Tim Buckley Ep62
Spark Club Podcast
Spark Club Podcast recorded on 31 October 2025 Highlights BESS deployments booming in Australia Batteries are the biggest disruptive force in global energy markets in 2025. Australia becomes world’s third-largest utility battery market. Australia has overtaken the UK to rank behind China and the US in utility-scale battery capacity, with 14GW/37GWh of projects at or nearing financial close. Rystad Energy estimates the Australian pipeline of battery projects jumped 45GW in one year from 109GW in August 2024 to 154GW now. Meanwhile Minister Bowen is rightly crowing about the >100,000 home...
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Time to Act on Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 2 - Killian Daly Ep61
Spark Club Podcast
We invited Killian Daly, CEO of Energy Tag, on to the Spark Club podcast on the 10th October. We recorded the podcast in London at an industry event. The reason for having Killian on is it’s an important time for ensuring the policy settings are right for updating the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 2 Guidance. The discussion paper will be released next week, with a two month public consultation period. It's a great conversation about a common sense approach, grounded in the physics of energy, and how we need to make it accessible to everyone, even my Mum and Killian's...
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Emissions targets are a thing. Tim Buckley Ep60
Spark Club Podcast
Spark Club Podcast recorded on the 3rd October 2025 Highlights China’s Envision announces a green passport for wind turbines Envision Energy, announced this week that its main wind turbine has been internationally certified via the Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) platform. 🔹 85–90% recyclability, maximizing circular economy potential 🔹 Supply chains on track for 100% green electricity by 2028 🔹 Transparent, internationally recognized carbon accounting China’s cleantech leaders are embracing an international alignment to build collaboration and a race to the top on...
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Is Australia a Petro State or an Electro State? Tim Buckley Ep59
Spark Club Podcast
Highlights China Cleantech Exports Boom Lauri Myllyvirta @CREA notes value of China’s exports of clean energy technologies hit a new all-time record in July, passing the previous high from March 2023. China exported $18.4bn worth of solar and wind power equipment, EVs and batteries during the month. Australia Brazil Chamber of Commence Forum ABCC business forum in the lead up to COP30, Organised by the wonderful Mara Bun. We also head about Brazil looking to develop world leading green iron projects. Lowlights Qld LNP State Government Capture by the Fossil fuel Industry looks complete ...
info_outlineThe Highlights
* Labor's re-election
* Bradfield recount - a celebration of the integrity of our voting system
* Labor's Residential Battery Program - Minister Bowen re-commits to his election pledge of $2.3bn home and business BESS subsidy
* Australia on track to see utility BESS increase 8x to 16GW by end 2027
The Lowlights
* The Albanese Government approved the North West Shelf expansion. The decision will put 4.4 billion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere in the coming decades. That’s the equivalent of approving 12 new coal fired power stations
* Queensland Deputy Premier rejecting a 450MW Wind farm and BESS - climate science denialism in the LNP strikes again
The Big Story this week
* China emissions peaked in March 2024, and now for 12 months have plateaued and marginally declined
* 4MCY2025 thermal power generation in China down 3.6% yoy
* China installs 46GW of solar in just the single month of April 2025
What's coming up
* A carbon market price path towards an Asian CBAM - new Climate Energy Finance report released next week