Australia's abundant renewable energy resources and existing infrastructure make it well placed to become a leading producer of green hydrogen. However, given Australia's scarce water resources, hydrogen producers may face challenges in securing reliable, long-term access to the volumes of water that will be required to support large-scale hydrogen projects. This Insight explores the issues that investors and developers need to consider in securing access to water for hydrogen projects in Australia, as interest in the industry continues to grow. ...

The Department for Home Affairs has released the Australian Government's Ransomware Action Plan (the Plan). This development forms part of the Government's Cyber Strategy and is the latest in a series of actions taken by the Government to combat the escalating threat of ransomware and extortion. ...

On 20 August 2021, the Energy Ministers agreed that the national gas regulatory framework should be reviewed and amended to incorporate hydrogen and other renewables into the national gas network. This will facilitate the use of hydrogen, biomethane and other renewable gases within existing gas networks and natural gas appliances. ...

The positive Senate inquiry into the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Bill 2021 (the OEI Bill) suggests this legislation will be passed shortly. It represents a long-awaited step towards developing a regulatory framework and providing greater certainty for investors in offshore wind farm projects, as well as other forms of offshore electricity infrastructure. ...

There are several recommendations aimed at ensuring readiness for the retirement of ageing thermal generation in the Final Advice on the Post 2025 Market Design of the National Electricity Market (the NEM). In this Insight, we analyse two of the most important, and imminent, reforms. ...

In our latest update, we examine the progress of new and existing rule change requests to the AEMC across the month of September, as well as take a closer look at the AEMC's introduction of primary frequency response incentive arrangements. ...

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (Joint Committee) has recommended that businesses responsible for Australia's critical infrastructure be subjected to expanded governance assistance measures as a matter of urgency. If adopted, the recommendations would see the proposed Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2020 (Draft Bill) separated into two bills. ...

With many of the key capacity mechanism design elements yet to be resolved, we take the opportunity to explore the magnitude of the proposed changes via a hypothetical glimpse into the future. What might the electricity market look like in a Physical RRO world, from the perspective of a generator, a retailer and the market? ...

We examine the CMM(REZ) proposal and how it differs from today's system. We also compare and contrast it with previous proposals mooted in the AEMC's Coordination of Generation and Transmission Investment (COGATI) review ...

In our latest update, we examine the progress of new and existing rule change requests to the AEMC across the month of June, as well as take a closer look at the AER's Compliance and Enforcement Priorities for 2021-22. ...