This is like telling your scuba diving partner to grow some gills as their tanks run out.

Trump proposes 90 diesel export ban. Industry is pushing back hard... we'll see...

This is the most damning and outrageous draft-final change in the latest ISP. In the draft, just Stage 1, ie one 500KV line, modelled to New England. Ongoing analysis and stakeholder engagement needed "to ascertain whether the second stage will optimise benefits to consumers..." Crystal clear that AEMO knows full well that there are no projects likely to close in the REZ, and this will be a white-elephant, with terrible costs imposed on consumers with no chance of proportional benefit. So what happened with the analysis and stakeholder engagement? Well, one stakeholder trumped all others. The NSW government wrote and declared that they're doing both lines, in a single project, and asked for it to be treated as 'anticipated' which makes it a sunk-cost in the ISP, so AEMO would not do any further analysis on whether it makes economic sense for consumers. The sheer bloody-mindedness of this move is just breathtaking. There can be no pretense now that the ISP does anything at all to coordinate investment or protect consumers. A supremely arrogant government can just over-rule the community, and consumer interests, and the ISP just nods along, puts it all in the path called 'optimal'. 1/

BREAKING Trump Administration warns it will treat as censorship 'facilitating censorship' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's proposed crackdown on algorithms. Source: au.usembassy.gov/u-s-governm…

Despite batteries getting cheaper, the relevant department in WA has pivoted back to gas as the lowest-cost means of peaking capacity. The history of BRCP pricing in the chart below tells a story of ideological capture. Specifically, the mental gymnastics required to squeeze batteries in as the benchmark technology - which is supposed to be the cheapest option - while at the same time having to jack up prices by 113% over two years to make batteries viable. Only to realise 4hr or even 6hr batteries still need gas backup thereafter. So you may as well get rid of the battery and just use gas instead. Unfortunately for WA, we dumped $2bn worth of batteries into the grid over those two years, which will never pay for themselves. And the increase in gas costs from 2026 to 2029? That's mostly a function of increased turbine costs, as datacentres bid up the world's supply of generators in search for cheap, dispatchable energy.

Wow… one of the Greek members of the EU parliament gives Von der Leyen both barrels:

this is interesting... global ETF holdings of gold are increasing despite the latest pull-back in gold price. Seems like ETF holders are looking past the next US rate move, and are more focused on the structural challenges of US fiscal sustainability.

Many other countries could also do stuff like this if they genuinely gave a crap about their citizens. People have gotten used to everything being slow and inefficient just because "that's how it is". Despite all the leaps in technology over the decades.

Update... The NSW Government paid papers to promulgate a lie about job creation at a wind farm. Their paid advertorial said: "since becoming fully operational, the project has created 240 direct jobs" But when answering questions on notice, they checked their source... "up to 240 people during the construction period". This must be a deliberate act of deception. To contemplate the alternative - gross incompetence - is frankly even more frightening. Anyone working remotely in-and-around energy would do a quick head-check and realise that any more than a tiny handful of ongoing "direct" employees at a wind farm is a mistake. Of course it was a upper-bound for a construction peak. Almost entirely contractors. What is going on in EnergyCo (NSW Government) for them to make that kind of mistake? What other mistakes are they making? Or did they think they'd get away with deceiving the public?

What a train smash. The Minister can’t foresee the problems with the legislation, which place her in charge of what people can and cant read. Imagine @AnikaWells being in charge of whether online platforms discuss the cost of her latest US trip?!?

This is a great clip highlighting how the financial freedom of Australians has evaporated over the last 4 years. As Alan quite rightly says “they’re not happy”

genuinely cannot believe the government gave 8 million dollars to Fairfax Media lmfao

Some notes on the big story of they day... Tomago aluminium smelter, and the $2.5 billion subsidy to keep it open for ten years. The media has swallowed the $2.5 billion number as though it's real. It's not. A quick 🧵. 1/ afr.com/politics/federal/lab…

Why on earth are our tax officials copying policy from the UK? Have they not seen the state of the UK's economy? These people need to resign. afr.com/policy/tax-and-super…

Doesn't make you feel any younger, but it's always great to see the next generation up on stage at @diggersndealers