Australia launches A$2.3 billion plan to boost home batteries
The programme cuts the upfront cost of installing a household battery by about 30 per cent, provided that the system is connected to solar panels. The discount rate will be reviewed at least annually and gradually decrease until 2030.
The government hopes that offsetting some of the relatively high upfront cost of batteries will allow it to tap a world-leading uptake of solar by its citizens – about a third of households had panels in 2024, but only one in 40 of those had storage. It would also help alleviate dramatic price swings that make Australia's electricity market one of the most volatile, with wholesale power rates regularly dropping below zero when solar generation peaks around noon, before spiking after sunset.
'Growth in battery adoption will help Australia smooth its increasingly volatile power market, and allow greater integration of renewables,' said Leonard Quong, head of Australian research at BloombergNEF. 'Small-scale battery deployments have failed to keep pace with rooftop solar installations, weighed down by stubbornly high up-front costs and a lack of policy support.'
The incentives are likely to drive a boom in sales in the near-term by customers wanting to take full advantage before the incentives wind down, according to Quong. That will be welcome news for producers such as Tesla, whose local head last month said that Australia was the first, and so far only, country with more Powerwall household batteries than Tesla electric vehicles.
It could well be profitable for households, which in a worst-case scenario are forced to curtail solar output, with several electricity retailers offering customers free power around noon, or even paying them to use it. Wholesale prices were negative 20 per cent of the time across the National Electricity Market, which covers about four-fifths of Australia's power use, in the second half of 2024, according to BloombergNEF.
While the incentive will accelerate battery ownership among households, it won't help increase the resilience of energy-intensive industries trying to manage the risks of the renewable transition, said Anita Stadler, head of Renewable Energy Investments at consultant ERM Energetics.
Some of those risks include increasing breakdowns linked to an ageing fleet of coal-fired power plants that still supply most of Australia's power. To help meet some of the shortfall, the government has set an ambitious target for 82 per cent of power generation to come from renewables by 2030, from about 40 per cent last year.
'We already generate an excess of clean, reliable, renewable energy from Australia's abundant sun and wind,' Greg Bourne, an energy expert at the Climate Council, said in a June report that showed the price of batteries has declined 86 per cent since 2013. 'Batteries will help soak it all up and put it to good use during periods of high demand.' BLOOMBERG
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Business Times
6 hours ago
- Business Times
Hyflux's ex-director pleads guilty to disclosure-related charge, fined S$90,000 and barred from directorships
[SINGAPORE] A former independent director of Hyflux pleaded guilty on Thursday (Aug 7) to being negligent in the insolvent water treatment firm's failure to disclose to the Singapore Exchange (SGX) relevant information related to the Tuaspring integrated water and power project. Rajsekar Kuppuswami Mitta's plea of guilt came ahead of the trial against six others, including founder and former chief executive Olivia Lum, scheduled for the coming Monday. He was fined S$90,000, and has been barred from becoming a director in any company. He also cannot take part, directly or indirectly, in the management of any company for five years, effective Thursday. The statement of facts indicated that, at the board of directors' meetings on Nov 4, 2010 and Feb 22, 2011, Mitta was briefed by the Hyflux management on the company's bid to design, build, own and operate Tuaspring, Singapore's second and largest seawater desalination plant. Hyflux then released an announcement to SGX on Mar 7, 2011 about having been named the 'preferred bidder' for the project, which was to have a concession period of 25 years, during which the desalinated water produced at the plant would be sold to PUB. The announcement also stated that the cost of Tuaspring was S$890 million. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Hyflux added that it would build a 411MW combined-cycle, gas-turbine power plant to supply electricity to the desalination plant. However, it failed to disclose that Tuaspring was Hyflux's expansion into a new business of selling electricity, which was outside its core competency area of desalination. It also did not mention that the revenue from the sale of electricity from Tuaspring's power plant was projected to make up the significant majority of Tuaspring's turnover. Neither was it disclosed that the profitability of Tuaspring was to be contingent on revenue from the sale of electricity from the power plant, and this had implications for Tuaspring's resulting exposure to market risks arising from the volatility of electricity prices. The statement of facts said it would have been necessary for the listed firm to make this disclosure to avoid the establishment of a false market in relation to Hyflux's securities, because the material information could influence investors' decisions on whether to trade in its securities. Mitta was a non-executive, independent director of Hyflux from April 2007 to December 2013. The 68-year-old Australian, who has permanent residency in Singapore, was chairman of the board's risk-management committee. Hyflux reported about S$115.5 million in net losses for 2017, and attributed its first loss to the weak power market in Singapore, on the back of Tuaspring contributing to the bulk of the losses. Hyflux suspended trading in its stock in May 2018, and was placed under judicial management in November 2020. To the prosecution's seeking general deterrence in the sentencing, the district court handed down that S$90,000 fine and the mandatory five-year disqualification order. Mitta could have been fined up to S$250,000, sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or to both. One other charge against him was taken into consideration during sentencing; he had been accused of being liable for Hyflux's omission to state the material information regarding Tuaspring in the 2011 Offer Information Statement issued for the offer of S$200 million, 6 per cent preference shares in April 2011.
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Ex-Hyflux director fined $90k over water company's failure to disclose information on Tuaspring
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Rajsekar Kuppuswami Mitta was also barred from acting as a company director for five years. SINGAPORE – A former independent director of Hyflux was fined $90,000 on Aug 7 over the company's failure to disclose information relating to the Tuaspring integrated water and power project in 2011 as required under Singapore Exchange (SGX) listing rules. The fine was handed down to Rajsekar Kuppuswami Mitta by a district court after he pleaded guilty to a charge of neglect in relation to an announcement by the company to the SGX on March 7 that year. Rajsekar, a 68-year-old Australian citizen and Singapore permanent resident, was also barred from acting as a company director for five years. Six others who have also been charged for disclosure-related offences – including Hyflux founder and former chief executive Olivia Lum Ooi Lin – are contesting their charges in a trial scheduled from Aug 11 to Feb 5, 2026. Hyflux, once a celebrated water treatment company in Singapore, officially collapsed in 2021 after facing financial woes from its foray into the energy business through the Tuaspring plant. On Aug 7, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kevin Yong told the court that Hyflux intentionally failed to disclose information in the March 7, 2011, announcement that would have allowed investors to make fully informed decisions. The announcement stated that Hyflux had been named the 'preferred bidder' by national water agency PUB to build and operate Singapore's second and largest seawater desalination plant in Tuas for a concession period of 25 years. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Some ageing condos in Singapore struggle with failing infrastructure, inadequate sinking funds Singapore Wastewater overflow in Bedok and Chai Chee due to choked sewer at BTO worksite: PUB Singapore Teen's love of dance powers her through cancer to perform at NDP2025 Singapore Jail for driver who drove over leg of special needs woman in accident on church driveway Business S'pore firm looks to buy SMEs lacking successors, launches CEO training programme to foster renewal Asia Kpods, zombie oil or etomidate? A new name may help Hong Kong curb its youth drug crisis World Trump's 100% semiconductor tariffs may hit chipmakers in Singapore, other SEA nations The announcement also stated that the cost of the Tuaspring project was $890 million. It mentioned that a power plant will be built to supply electricity to the desalination plant, and that excess power will be sold to the power grid. However, it did not disclose that Hyflux was going into the business of selling electricity for the first time. The company also failed to disclose that the profitability of the power plant was contingent on revenue from the sale of electricity, which was projected to make up the significant majority of Tuaspring's revenue. DPP Yong said drafts and e-mails leading up to the release of the final version of the announcement showed an intention by Hyflux to downplay the power plant component of Tuaspring, and to instead focus on the desalination plant component. In particular, information on Tuaspring being Hyflux's entry into the energy retail business in the first draft of the announcement was removed in subsequent drafts. The prosecutor said this information would be likely to influence investors in deciding whether to buy or sell Hyflux's shares, as it would have revealed that the company was entering a new business outside its core competency of desalination. The information would also have revealed that the profitability of Tuaspring was contingent on the revenue from electricity sales, rather than from the sale of water to PUB over the 25-year concession contract. 'This would have exposed Tuaspring to significant market risks due to the volatility of electricity prices,' he added. The final draft was circulated by e-mail to Hyflux's five independent directors before the announcement was made. Rajsekar did not respond. DPP Yong said the other four directors responded, but none of them made any comments regarding the omission of the relevant information. As it turned out, the risks did materialise when electricity prices fell sharply sometime in 2015 and remained suppressed through 2017, he said. Because the profitability of Tuaspring hinged on electricity revenue, the fall in electricity prices ultimately led to Hyflux falling into the red for the first time in the company's history. In Hyflux's annual report for 2017, the company reported a loss of more than $115 million after tax. On May 21, 2018, Hyflux suspended trading of its shares . The company then filed for a debt moratorium, which was granted by the High Court on June 19, 2018. On Nov 16, 2020, Hyflux was placed under judicial management. Its share price was wiped to zero. The company had 16,936 ordinary shareholders and 20,104 preference shareholders as at March 14, 2018. On July 21, 2021, the High Court approved Hyflux's winding up . DPP Yong sought a fine of $90,000 for Rajsekar, saying that the harm caused was high while Rajsekar's culpability was low. He said the sentence meted out must send a clear signal that company directors are ultimately responsible for the company's compliance with continuous disclosure requirements. The prescribed sentence is a fine of up to $250,000, a jail term of up to seven years, or both. Defence counsel, Mr Suresh Damodara, noted that his client was not copied on any of the earlier drafts. Rajsekar had invested his own money in Hyflux and lost $1 million, said Mr Damodara, adding that his client believes the investment indicated his honest belief that the Tuaspring project was commercially viable. Mr Damodara added that his client has decided to give up corporate life altogether. In sentencing, District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt agreed with the prosecution's submission that deterrence was the main consideration. The judge also accepted that neglect was the lowest degree of responsibility for such offences. A second charge, for non-disclosure related to Hyflux's offer of $200 million worth of shares on April 3, 2011, was taken into consideration during sentencing.
Business Times
6 hours ago
- Business Times
Mining giants squeeze dividends with an eye toward funding growth
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