Australia

  • Press Releases

    VNI West Project could delay the retirement of coal generators

    Analysis conducted by Cornwall Insight Australia reveals that certain coal plants in New South Wales (NSW) may benefit from delaying their retirement, following the release of new plans for the VNI West transmission project. The 'conclusions report' from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) indicates that under the preferred scenario...

  • Press Releases

    Staggering the shutdown of Eraring Power Station would lower impact on energy costs

    New modelling from Cornwall Insight Australia reveals that a staggered retirement of the Eraring power station would reduce the impact on energy prices in New South Wales (NSW) and lower net imports. Unlike previous plant closures, Eraring will retire all four units simultaneously, with a scheduled shutdown of August 2025....

  • Media Mentions

    Financial Review| Closure of Liddell power station

    Following news that the closure of Liddell power station could send Australian energy prices skyrocketing, our Modelling Manager Bed Tudman spoke to Financial Review on why the closure could lead to a rise in evening prices, with little room being left for outages in NSW. Financial Review

  • Press Releases

    Proposed change in capacity forecasts for National Electricity Market an important step towards accuracy

    Data analysed by Cornwall Insight Australia, as part of our ongoing review of the National Electricity Market (NEM), has shown the capacity of the NEM is being drastically overestimated in the short-term and underestimated in the long-term. The delays experienced by new connections and the exclusion of projects that are...

  • Press Releases

    Victoria must increase transmission capacity to meet offshore wind targets

    Data analysed by Cornwall Insight Australia has shown that Victoria will need to increase its transmission capacity in the South East by an additional 2GW by 2035 and 7GW by 2040 if it wants to capitalise on new capacity and help meet the state’s ambitious offshore wind targets. The Bass...

  • Press Releases

    Average power prices to remain elevated for the next three years

    Data from Cornwall Insight Australia’s Benchmark Power Curve (BPC)1 has forecast that from 2026, power prices in a neutral/base scenario will be, on average, ~$60-$100/MWh across all states in the National Electricity Market (NEM). This aligns with ~$40-80/MWh levels seen during 2021. The BPC has, however, forecast that the annual...

  • Press Releases

    Victorian Government announcement could help address supply gaps but raises questions for other investors

    The Victorian Government’s announcement on Thursday to resurrect the State Electricity Commission (SEC) may largely address supply gaps identified from recent Cornwall Insight Australia analysis. According to the proposal, the SEC will receive $1b of initial investment to deliver 4.5GW of renewable power, this should help address the supply gap...

  • Press Releases

    Cornwall Insight Australia advisor to Aquila Capital on acquisition of 220MW battery portfolio

    Cornwall Insight Australia was an advisor to Aquila Capital on its acquisition of a pipeline of battery storage assets, totalling 220MW, from Spain’s Gransolar Group. As a leading provider of research, modelling, advisory and consultancy services to businesses engaged in the Australian energy market, experts at Cornwall Insight Australia used...

  • Press Releases

    Energy prices across Australia to remain high until 2026

    Research from Cornwall Insight Australia’s Benchmark Power Curve (BPC)1, which looks at power prices up until 2042, has forecast that all states in the National Electricity Market (NEM) will have an annual median price of around $200/MWh, up until FY2025. These high prices are expected to feed into bills over...

  • Press Releases

    National Electricity Market may be overwhelmed by increase in electric vehicle use

    Data analysed by Cornwall Insight Australia has shown the National Electricity Market (NEM) may become overwhelmed by peaks in demand caused by the charging of Electric Vehicles (EVs). Using data from the 2022 Integrated System Plan released by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), Cornwall Insight Australia have plotted expected...

  • Press Releases

    Cornwall Insight Australia develops a 5-minute model for Benchmark Power Curve

    Cornwall Insight Australia has developed a 5-minute model for their Benchmark Power Curve (BPC), improving the granularity of their price forecasts from 30 minutes to 5 minutes dispatch for the first five years of the 30-year forecast. Cornwall Insight Australia’s BPC helps market participants understand trends in future prices and...

  • Press Releases

    26GW of announced battery storage in the Australian pipeline

    Research from Cornwall Insight Australia shows that the pipeline of proposed storage is growing substantially to over 26GW of announced projects in the market and that the expected technical lifetime of those assets is increasing. As a result, Cornwall Insight Australia has announced an increase in its Frequency Control Ancillary...

  • Press Releases

    ESB and Cornwall Insight Australia provide final advice to energy ministers

    Last week, the Energy Security Board (ESB) released its recommendations for the redesign of the National Electricity Market (NEM). Cornwall Insight Australia (CIA) was engaged by the ESB to assess the potential benefit of the proposed essential system service reform package for system strength provision. The report detailed that these...

  • Press Releases

    Incidents of price cannibalisation of renewable assets on the rise

    Research from Cornwall Insight Australia shows that the growth of variable renewable energy (VRE) generation significantly impacts their captured price. In fact, in FY18, 98% of the grid-scale solar generation volumes captured prices above $50/MWh. However, this has reduced to 12% in FY21. On top of this, wind and solar...

  • Press Releases

    Peak raise regulation FCAS volumes drop by 72MWs

    Analysis from Cornwall Insight Australia shows an evident change in regulation Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) enablement from December onwards, with a 72 MW drop in FCAS volumes. December 2019 to March 2020 average volume peaks at approximately 315MW while 12 months later it peaks at 242MW. Overall, there is...

  • Press Releases

    Is the market putting the brakes on distributed solar exports?

    Research from Cornwall Insight Australia shows market conditions putting the brakes on distributed solar exports. In fact, there are substantial savings if consumers switch retailers without installing solar compared to opting to install solar panels with one of the big three retailers. The below graph compares the choice between installing...

  • Press Releases

    Battery storage increasingly setting the price in FCAS markets

    Research from Cornwall Insight Australia shows a clear trend in regulation raise price setting in the Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) market with respect to battery storage. In fact, in Q119, batteries were only involved in ~2.22% of instances. This has increased to ~3.73% in Q120 and is now at...

  • Press Releases

    Market Price Cap incidents on the rise in the last two years

    Instances of sustained Market Price Cap (MPC) – especially during high demand days – have been on the rise in recent years, according to the latest research from Cornwall Insight Australia. In the last two years, the total count of periods when the market has settled at MPC is 16...

  • Press Releases

    7GW of battery storage projects in the pipeline across Australia

    Projections from Cornwall Insight Australia show there is ~7GW of battery storage projects proposed or currently in the planning process. Of that 7GW there is just over 900MW of committed or significantly progressed storage projects set to be delivered by 2024. Key findings ~7GW of battery storage projects either proposed...

  • Press Releases

    Significant rise is electricity system constraint issues across Australia

    System strength — such as voltage control — is one of the most talked-about issues in the National Energy Market (NEM) this year. There are currently three rule changes dealing directly with system strength issues, which could have a profound impact on the electricity grid. Cornwall Insight Australia has examined...

  • Press Releases

    Rooftop solar growth driving unprecedented changes to demand shape

    Between 12 - 1 PM, on Sunday, October 11, 2020, solar power provided 100% of South Australia’s energy demand – a first in Australia and for any major jurisdiction globally. Cornwall Insight Australia has examined what impact this phenomenal growth in rooftop solar is having in the wholesale market and...

  • Press Releases

    Wind generation’s share of non-coal merchant revenues increased 30% in three years

    The energy transition is having a significant effect on merchant revenues for different generation types across the NEM. Research from Cornwall Insight Australia suggests wind generation captured almost half of the total spot market revenues in New South Wales (NSW) last quarter, accounting for more than gas and hydro’s share...

  • Press Releases

    Solar power responsible for paying 20% of total FCAS regulation costs

    Latest research from Cornwall Insight Australia shows that solar farms are responsible for paying somewhere between 10%-20% of total regulation FCAS costs in any given month (see Figure 1). This is disproportionate to solar’s energy generation in the NEM, which in FY20, was only ~3%. In contrast, wind is far...

  • Press Releases

    Divergence in merchant value together with complementary wind and solar shapes creates new opportunities for hybrid projects

    Research from Cornwall Insight Australia examined the performance of wind and solar technologies against the time-of-day price shape, highlights a clear divergence in the merchant outlook for both technologies. This presents a real opportunity for collaborative and hybrid projects to maximise developers’ value. Key findings From FY19 to FY20, average...

  • Press Releases

    Renewable energy transition in New South Wales needs to gather pace significantly

    Research from Cornwall Insight Australia highlights that the energy transition in New South Wales (NSW) over the next decade will need to gather pace significantly. The below graph shows that renewables have contributed an average of ~10% of total generation in NSW in the last four years. Over that same...

  • Press Releases

    Number of sub-800MW demand periods double and sub-700MW quadruples in just a year

    On the 6 February, AEMO issued market notice 73857 in response to the enduring islanding of the SA network. The notice informed the market that when South Australian (SA) demand falls under 800MW several generators, including more than 500MW of wind and 300MW of solar will be constrained down to...

  • Press Releases

    Cornwall Insight Australia appoints Alba Ruiz Leon as Managing Director

    Cornwall Insight Australia is pleased to announce the appointment of Alba Ruiz Leon as Managing Director. With the responsibility of Cornwall Insight’s Australian business, Alba will play a key role in supporting the company’s growth in Australia. Alba has over 15 years of energy market experience, including more than 12...

  • Press Releases

    Renewable growth drives common goals for electricity networks across the globe

    Electricity networks globally are experiencing significant increases in the volume of renewable capacity as countries seek to decarbonise their power sectors without impacting the security of supply. The scale of this change is creating new challenges for power networks and those responsible for keeping the lights on. The latest insight...

  • Press Releases

    The future of wind in Australian V Great British energy markets

    Wind is set to become a dominant source of power as governments look to reduce their carbon emissions and although technology and wind resources are similar across the world the risk and values that wind power creates is primarily driven by the characteristics of the markets. The latest insight paper...