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Tony Wood

Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute

Tony has deep experience in the energy sector. He worked at Origin Energy for 11 years, and was an adviser to the first Garnaut climate change review. He is also program director of Clean Energy Projects at the Clinton Foundation.

Wholesale power prices are falling fast – but consumers will have to wait for relief. Here’s why

Feb 08, 2024 12:24 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Wholesale power prices are falling steeply in Australia, following two years of surging prices after the Ukraine war triggered an energy crisis. New data shows annualised spot prices for power in Australias main grid fell...

Why Australia urgently needs a climate plan and a Net Zero National Cabinet Committee to implement it

Oct 11, 2023 03:36 am UTC| Insights & Views

Australia has a legislated target to reduce greenhouse emissions, a federal government with commitments to increase the share of renewable electricity and reduce power prices, and a globally important economic opportunity...

Carbon pricing: it's a proven way to reduce emissions but everyone's too scared to mention it

Feb 26, 2020 07:27 am UTC| Insights & Views

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese sought to claim the climate policy high ground last week with his commitment to a net-zero emissions target by 2050. But figures on Australias emissions from the Department of the...

The government can restrain electricity prices without threatening to break up power companies. Its adviser says so

Dec 16, 2018 13:17 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law

Who wouldnt want cheaper power? And who wouldnt enjoy a bit of a stoush between the big bad generators and the government, trying to break them up on our behalf? Even if it was largely tangential to keeping prices...

State governments can transform Australia’s energy policy from major fail to reliable success

Nov 04, 2018 14:29 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy Law

This week were exploring the state of nine different policy areas across Australias states, as detailed in Grattan Institutes State Orange Book 2018. Read the other articles in the series here. Energy policy in...

Despite the charged atmosphere, Frydenberg and Finkel have the same goal for electricity

Oct 10, 2017 05:36 am UTC| Insights & Views

Globally in the past seven years, the cost of wind-powered generation has more than halved. Domestically, solar PV costs have dropped more than 50%. By 2020, costs of battery technologies are expected to fall 40-60% and...

Why the free market hasn't slashed power prices (and what to do about it)

Mar 14, 2017 07:13 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The energy sector was supposed to be the showcase for privatisation and market deregulation. Yet in 2017, this premise is being sorely tested no more so than in electricity retailing, where competition has failed to...

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Economy

U.S. Stock Futures Steady as Iran Reviews U.S. Ceasefire Proposal

U.S. stock index futures held relatively steady on Wednesday evening after Iran signaled it was reviewing a ceasefire proposal put forward by Washington aimed at ending the ongoing Middle East conflict. The cautious market...

Oil Prices Climb as Iran Reviews U.S. Peace Proposal Amid Middle East Tensions

Oil prices edged higher during Asian trading on Thursday as conflicting signals over potential Middle East de-escalation kept energy markets on alert. Brent crude futures for May delivery rose 0.8% to $103.02 per barrel,...

Gold Prices Climb as Middle East Ceasefire Talks Stir Market Optimism

Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday as cautious optimism surrounding potential U.S.-Iran ceasefire negotiations lifted sentiment across global markets. Spot gold climbed 0.7% to $4,504.58 per ounce, while U.S. gold...

Middle East War Rattles Global Markets as Oil Tops $100 and Dollar Surges

Asian equity markets struggled to find clear direction on Thursday as investors navigated a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape in the Middle East. Iran signaled conditional willingness to consider a U.S.-backed...

Federal Reserve Balance Sheet Reduction: Brookings Research Outlines Possible Path Forward

New research from the Brookings Institution suggests the Federal Reserve could shrink its balance sheet through a combination of regulatory adjustments, payment system reforms, and more active market interventions without...

Politics

Russia-Iran Military Alliance Deepens With Drone Shipments Amid Middle East Tensions

Moscow is moving closer to completing a multi-phase transfer of lethal drones, medicine, and food supplies to Tehran, according to Western intelligence sources cited by the Financial Times. The deliveries are designed to...

Trump Seeks Quick End to U.S.-Iran Conflict Amid Ongoing Middle East Tensions

President Donald Trump has privately told close advisers that he wants to avoid a drawn-out war with Iran and is pushing for a swift resolution to the ongoing conflict, according to a Wall Street Journal report published...

Iran-U.S. Negotiations: Tehran Reviews American Peace Proposal Amid Ongoing Gulf Conflict

Irans foreign minister confirmed Wednesday that Tehran is examining a United States peace proposal aimed at ending the escalating Gulf war, though officials stressed this falls short of direct negotiations between the two...

FEMA Reinstates $1 Billion Disaster Prevention Grant Program After Court Order

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced the resumption of a key disaster prevention initiative after facing legal challenges that forced the reversal of its earlier cancellation. The agency is once again...

Taiwan Arms Deal on Track Despite U.S.-China Summit Uncertainty

Taiwans Defense Minister Wellington Koo confirmed Thursday that the next major U.S. arms sale to the island remains on schedule, revealing that Taipei has already received a formal letter of guarantee from Washington...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Google's TurboQuant Algorithm Sends Memory Chip Stocks Tumbling

Major memory chipmakers took a significant hit on Thursday after Google researchers introduced a groundbreaking compression algorithm that threatens to reduce artificial intelligence demand for memory chips. Samsung...

Reflection AI Eyes $25 Billion Valuation in Massive $2.5 Billion Funding Round

Nvidia-backed artificial intelligence startup Reflection AI is in advanced discussions to secure $2.5 billion in fresh funding, with negotiations pointing to a staggering pre-money valuation of $25 billion, according to a...

Nanya Technology Shares Surge 10% After $2.5 Billion Private Placement from Sandisk and Cisco

Shares of Taiwan-based memory chip manufacturer Nanya Technology soared to their daily limit of 10% on Thursday morning following the companys announcement of a major $2.5 billion private placement deal backed by prominent...

SK Hynix Eyes Up to $14 Billion U.S. IPO to Fund AI Chip Expansion

South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix has submitted a confidential filing for a U.S. stock market listing in 2026, with sources indicating the move could raise as much as $14 billion. The company intends to offer...

Meta Ties Executive Pay to Aggressive Stock Price Targets in Major Retention Push

Meta Platforms made a significant move this week by granting restricted stock units and stock options to several of its most senior leaders, including Chief Financial Officer Susan Li and Chief Technology Officer Andrew...