Spark Club Podcast

Highlights – Minister Bowen's BYONCE for Data Centres The federal government and Energy Minister Chris Bowen have committed that data centre development approvals will be contingent on BYONCE – Bring Your Own New Clean Energy. The signs are promising –The Energy reports a consultation paper has been released by the federal government that confirmed that the Clean Energy Regulator would use the Ren...

Spark Club Podcast - Ep75 - 3rd September 2026 Highlights – CEF's field trip to China CATL, XCMG and China Hongqiao Group  Tim Buckley and Matt Pollard's three highlights from their China trip in August: CATL : RD&D: CATL invested an annualised RMB22.7bn (A$2.3bn) in R&D in 1HCY2026, up 13% y-o-y, with 22,000 staff deployed in RD&D, including 700 professors, with >60,000 patent applications and 17...

Spark Club Podcast 14 August 2026 Highlights – The new SRES support for the missing middle C&I rooftop solar Businesses, farmers to save on solar installations under renewable energy scheme expansion Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen today addresses the National Press Club of Australia to announce that the Australian Anthony Albanese government is expanding the solar discount to i...

Announcing the Spark Club podcast series on the grid networks.   High time for this important conversation about our Poles and Wires in Australia. And nobody better to discuss this topic than Stephanie Bashir .   In this first episode in the series, the saga begins with laying out the landscape and asking the obvious question. In a regulated monopoly, where is the regulator?    Thank you Stephanie...

Spark Club Podcast Ep72 24th July 2026 Highlights – 'Message to the haters' AFR Headline Beyond Tim's inspirational trip to China last month to be reminded about 'China Speed, China Scale' + 'China Going Global', his favourite thing this year was seeing the AFFR headline: "'Message to the haters': Chalmers gets cover to cut diesel tax rebate" Following a campaign in the lead-up to Labor's 50th nat...

Tim Buckley joined the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and Renewable Energy Council Asia-Pacific (RECAP) delegation to China. Before joining the delegation, Tim travelled across China by train — a very fast trip with a friend from Hong Kong, via Chongqing. Nothing beats travelling 12 hours at 300kph across the length of this amazing country to orient himself and see some of t...

Grant McDowell & Tim Buckley– Spark Club Podcast 27 May 2026 Highlights – ACCELERATING RENEWABLES DRIVES NEM ELECTRICITY PRICE DEFLATION Amazing to see electricity price DEFLATION being delivered in Australia in the middle of the latest fossil fuel war, with its resulting hyperinflation of global fossil fuel prices. The Australian Energy Regulator has released its final Default Market Offer (DMO)...

The Silicon to Solar study allowed Oliver Hartley and his colleagues assess the opportunity for Australia to play a role in the global solar PV value chain. In this Spark Club podcast Oliver shares how Australia can indeed play a meaningful role in the global solar value chain. All the right elements are there for the taking. A deep global market, big project experience and expertise, willing part...

Highlights – The SEC Sydney conference Brilliant to see a full house standing room only for Minister Bowen's talk. Great to have >8000 attendees to the wider trade hall and >100 speakers over two days in up to 8 theatres concurrently. So many people pulling in the right direction, reinvigorating. Highlights – Fuel Tax Credit reform Whilst the Albanese government has ruled out FTC reform in next TU...

Highlights – The Business Leaders Forum at Boao, China Tim attended the Boao Forum in Hainan Island, China, joining an Australian delegation that included Oliver Yates, Frank Jotzo, Justin Punch, Jenny Selway, Geoff Brooks, Andrew Forrest and six members of the FMG green team, and Australian Ambassador to China Scott Dewar. China's stated position remains one of full commitment to electrification...

Grant McDowell is in London and Tim Buckley is in Sydney recording the Spark Club Podcast on the 23rd March 2026 Highlights – Draft AER Default Market Offer Brilliant to see the Australian Energy Regulator has today flagged draft default market offer (DMO) electricity pricing down ⬇️ 1% to ⏬ 10% for residential consumers, and between ⬇️ 8% to ⏬ 21% for small business consumers The DMO sets an ef...

Grant McDowell & Tim Buckley– Spark Club Podcast 19 Feb 2026 - Hi and welcome to Spark Club podcast. I'm your host Grant McDowell. We are recording this podcast on the Garigal lands of the Eora nation and pay our respects to elders past and present. Welcome.  And welcome Tim Buckley. Highlights Domestic firmed RE deployment The Clean Energy Council's 4Q2025 Investment Report demonstrates a rebound...

Quick 2025 retrospective We see the Climate Energy Finance's role as to provide a narrative difference to the mainstream media, and to try to leverage global / non-US developments to better inform Australia's understanding of the energy system transformation, the threats and opportunities for Australia. Our three main pillars of conversation in 2025 were; China BESS - Batteries were likely to surp...

Spark Club Podcast Ep 63 -21st Nov 2025 Hosted by Grant McDowell and guest this week, Tim Buckley Highlights BESS deployments booming Batteries are the biggest disruptive force in global energy markets in 2025. Australia becomes world's third-largest utility battery market. Rho Motion reports Grid-scale BESS market saw 12.7GWh of new capacity enter operations globally in October 2025, +29% y-o-y....

Spark Club Podcast recorded on 31 October 2025 Highlights BESS deployments booming in Australia Batteries are the biggest disruptive force in global energy markets in 2025. Australia becomes world's third-largest utility battery market. Australia has overtaken the UK to rank behind China and the US in utility-scale battery capacity, with 14GW/37GWh of projects at or nearing financial close. Rystad...

We invited Killian Daly, CEO of Energy Tag, on to the Spark Club podcast on the 10th October. We recorded the podcast in London at an industry event.  The reason for having Killian on is it's an important time for ensuring the policy settings are right for updating the   Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 2 Guidance. The discussion paper will be released next week, with a two month public consultation...

Spark Club Podcast recorded on the 3rd October 2025 Highlights China's Envision announces a green passport for wind turbines Envision Energy, announced this week that its main wind turbine has been internationally certified via the Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) platform. 🔹 85–90% recyclability, maximizing circular economy potential 🔹 Supply chains on track for 100% green electricity b...

Highlights China Cleantech Exports Boom Lauri Myllyvirta @CREA notes value of China's exports of clean energy technologies hit a new all-time record in July, passing the previous high from March 2023. China exported $18.4bn worth of solar and wind power equipment, EVs and batteries during the month. Australia Brazil Chamber of Commence Forum ABCC business forum in the lead up to COP30, Organised b...

Highlights Adelaide Green iron conference Tim attends and presents at the WEF / Greenhouse green iron event, with almost 200 people from government, industry, think tanks and finance talking about the opportunities for green iron projects. A key need is for Australia to get a couple of proposals to FID and into construction, and this is a key opportunity should Australia win #COP31 – to announce b...

Spark Club - Linda Romanovska Introduction to Linda to provide context for the conversation Highlights Recent trip to Canberra with Climate Capital Forum International Court of Justice Opinion and the visit of Simon Stiell to Australia Lowlights The confusion and unproductive distraction cause by the "Omnibus" process – formally aimed at "simplification", but realistically is "deregulation" of cor...

Highlights Australia's Federal Senate Disinformation inquiry ARENA award to Calix $45m Allegra Spender Productivity and Tax Roundtable Lowlights Lithium Hydroxide Refinery Write-off by IGO Main Story The Race to 82% Renewables  AEMO's Quarterly Energy Dynamics 2QCY2025 Methane gas generation plays an important but small and progressively declining role 25% upscaling of the CIS Big BESS News What's...

Highlights Our first highlight  - the Capacity Investment Scheme.  South Australia's high RE % record Green Steel subsidies from South Korea US invests MP Materials a US Rare Earths materials Lowlights Labor can't seem to kick the fossil fuel habit heat pump numbers in NSW Main Story – China China's State Grid Energy Research Institute expects amazing deployment numbers EU is shifting on China Gov...

Intro -  The Resources, Energy & Industry Innovation Forum (REIIF) in Dubbo The Highlights * Tim's TED X Sydney * Net-Zero Export Target Proposal : ANU's Frank Jotzo and Annette Zou * Heavy Equipment Decarbonisation : BHP signs MoU with China's XCMG * China's Cleantech Outbound Investment (OFDI) : China building cleantech infrastructure abroad (e.g., 10GWh EV battery plant in France for Renault)....

The Highlights * Labor's re-election  * Bradfield recount - a celebration of the integrity of our voting system * Labor's Residential Battery Program - Minister Bowen re-commits to his election pledge of $2.3bn home and business BESS subsidy * Australia on track to see utility BESS increase 8x to 16GW by end 2027 The Lowlights * The Albanese Government approved the North West Shelf expansion. The...

Great conversation recorded at the How to Lobby Canberra at the live Spark Club event at EnergyLab in Sydney. Thanks to Kylea (Pronounced Kylie) Tink and Blair Palese for an open and honest scorecard on how the cleantech and climate sector is performing in Canberra. The 'Shine Baby Shine' side shone on the night. The Cleantech / Climate industry has work to do in;  1. Aligning our message 2. Fundi...