Hunt’s gong, renewable targets and Redflow: a mixed bag

Here’s our tribute to The Best Minister in the World @GregHuntMP #thanksgreg #auspol https://t.co/NByNlvI4dI

— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) February 13, 2016

It’s been a big week for renewables. A faux minister gets the nod for a fake gong, news that we’ll fail to meet our renewable targets and another Australian battery storage provider pulls on a boot.

News that Australia’s very own alleged Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt was named World’s Best Minister in a glittering ceremony in oil-drenched Dubai was cause for mirth. A real thigh slapper as Greg swanned about, really seeming to believe that despite his steadily dismantling of renewables and apparent efforts to endanger the Australian environment deserved a reward.

However the smiles were soon wiped away by the news that our renewable energy targets won’t be met. According to analysis by Green Energy Markets, the supply of renewable energy will fall short of the requirement for 2018 unless there’s a remarkable turnaround. At least 4,400MW of new renewable energy capacity needs to be committed this year in large-scale projects for the renewable energy target to make its goal of 33,000GWh by 2020, according to the environmental market research company.

The two are linked of course. Our Greg was/is the smiling face of one of this country’s most dangerous, pervasive and ongoing attempts to damage investor confidence and destabilise and dismantle renewable energy. To the obvious great delight of Greg and those he worked for, investor confidence in backing renewables has taken a big hit as a result of the policies, to the extent that the targets for renewable energy look likely to fall short.

However the policies worked (if that’s how you’d describe it) only up to a point. For while Greg remains in the chair — and his government’s policies have helped to momentarily stall large-scale solar — his draconian renewables policy has been symied by events and the popular mood at the household level.

While the popularity of solar panels has been largely driven by consumer demand for a number of years, it is battery storage and solar that is the new kid on the block and contributing to the death spiral of the fossil fuel utilities.

The latest to come charging out of the sheds is the Aussie – owned Redflow. The Brisbane-based company announced this week they would be launching their new battery storage option in late March, surfing on the wave of interest in the latest solar and battery energy storage boom.

“Product information provided at this launch will include pictures of the new Redflow external battery enclosure and its use in a residential context, performance specifications and system pricing examples,” the company said adding that domestic systems will be ready for installation in June. (More details on the battery storage here.)

It will be interesting to see how the “Best Minister in the World” reacts to the latest solar developments, including the boom in Australian battery storage. Will he decide to embrace the people’s will for a change? Or work in earnest to undermine solar at a household level? Either way, I’m sure there’s another fossil-fuelled gong waiting for him somewhere in the world.