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Bruce Mountain

Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University

PhD (economics) Victoria University, Batchelor's and Master's Degrees (Electrical Engineering), University of Cape Town. Chartered Management Accountant (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants), England. Director, Carbon and Energy Markets and co-founder, [MI] Retail Energy.

Solar above, batteries below: here’s how warehouses and shopping centres could produce 25% of Australia’s power

Aug 20, 2024 05:21 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

Imagine if Australian cities became major producers of clean energy, rather than relying on far-flung solar and wind farms. Far fetched? Hardly. Our cities and towns are full of warehouses, commercial areas, shopping...

Known unknowns: controversy over CSIRO’s electricity report reveals an uncomfortable truth

Jun 13, 2024 06:10 am UTC| Research & Analysis

CSIROs latest annual GenCost update, released last month, was billed as Australias most comprehensive electricity generation cost report. GenCost has proven to be highly controversial. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton...

Future of Coal Series

The end of coal-fired power is in sight, even with private interests holding out

Oct 11, 2022 04:28 am UTC| Economy

If future historians pick a point in time when Australia comprehensively turned its back on coal-fired generation, they may well point to AGLs decision to bring forward the closure of Loy Yang A, the cheapest (excluding...

Texas was a warning. Australia needs to rethink the design of its electricity market

Feb 26, 2021 14:17 pm UTC| Nature Economy

Australias electricity market is unsustainable. Texas shows us why. A week ago Texas experienced a bout of severe weather as arctic air reached deep into the state, driving temperature down to levels that had not been...

Pumped hydro isn't our energy future, it's our past

Oct 29, 2020 10:03 am UTC| Business

Its now beyond dispute that for new electricity generation solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy are cheaper than anything else: cheaper than new coal fired power stations, cheaper than new gas-fired stations...

The National Energy Guarantee is a flagship policy. So why hasn't the modelling been made public?

Jul 31, 2018 15:36 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law Politics

Central to the public debate about the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) has been the numerical forecasts of its effects in particular how much it will reduce power prices. In a democracy whose households pay some of the...

Economy

South Korea Inflation Hits Five-Month Low as CPI Reaches Central Bank Target

South Korean consumer inflation eased to a five-month low in January, reaching the Bank of Koreas official target and reinforcing signs that price pressures in the country are gradually stabilizing. According to data...

S&P 500 Rises as AI Stocks and Small Caps Rally on Strong Earnings Outlook

U.S. stock markets closed higher on Monday, led by gains in artificial intelligence-related stocks and a strong rally in small-cap companies, as investor confidence improved on solid earnings expectations and encouraging...

Japan Finance Minister Defends PM Takaichi’s Remarks on Weak Yen Benefits

Japans Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama on Tuesday defended Prime Minister Sanae Takaichis recent comments emphasizing the potential benefits of a weaker yen, saying the remarks were grounded in standard economic theory...

U.S. Stock Futures Rise as Investors Eye Big Tech Earnings and AI Momentum

U.S. stock futures edged higher on Monday night, extending Wall Streets strong start to February as optimism around technology and semiconductor stocks continued to drive market sentiment. Investors are now bracing for a...

Oil Prices Steady as Markets Weigh U.S.-Iran Talks, Dollar Strength Caps Gains

Oil prices edged slightly higher on Tuesday as investors balanced easing geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran against pressure from a stronger U.S. dollar. The cautious tone in global energy markets...

Politics

Trump Spoke With FBI Agents After Georgia Election Office Search, Report Says

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke directly with FBI agents one day after they searched an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, according to a report published by the New York Times on Monday. The report cited three...

Trump Calls for “Nationalizing” Voting, Drawing Backlash Over Election Authority

President Donald Trump sparked controversy after saying Republicans should nationalize and take over voting in at least 15 unspecified locations, repeating his long-standing and false claims that U.S. elections are plagued...

Trump Announces U.S.–India Trade Deal Cutting Tariffs, Boosting Markets and Energy Ties

U.S. President Donald Trump announced a major U.S.India trade deal on Monday that significantly reduces U.S. tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from a previous combined rate of 50%. The agreement, revealed after a phone call...

Venezuela and U.S. Move Toward Renewed Diplomatic Relations

Venezuela and the United States have taken another step toward restoring diplomatic relations after years of tension, following a high-level meeting in Caracas between interim President Delcy Rodríguez and U.S....

Russian Missile and Drone Attacks Hit Kyiv and Other Ukrainian Cities, Causing Widespread Damage

Russian forces launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine early Tuesday, striking the capital Kyiv and several other major regions, according to Ukrainian officials. The assault caused damage to residential...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Google Cloud and Liberty Global Forge Strategic AI Partnership to Transform European Telecom Services

Google Cloud, one of Alphabets fastest-growing divisions, has entered into a five-year strategic partnership with Liberty Global aimed at accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence and cloud technologies across...

Palantir Stock Jumps After Strong Q4 Earnings Beat and Upbeat 2026 Revenue Forecast

Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: PLTR) delivered a strong fourth-quarter earnings report, beating Wall Street expectations on both revenue and profit while issuing a significantly stronger-than-expected outlook for 2026....

Sam Altman Reaffirms OpenAI’s Long-Term Commitment to NVIDIA Amid Chip Report

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly reaffirmed the artificial intelligence companys strong relationship with NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), pushing back against recent reports suggesting dissatisfaction with the...

SoftBank and Intel Partner to Develop Next-Generation Memory Chips for AI Data Centers

SoftBank Corp (TYO:9434) has announced a strategic collaboration between its subsidiary Saimemory and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) to develop a new class of advanced memory chip technology aimed at powering the next...

Oracle Plans $45–$50 Billion Funding Push in 2026 to Expand Cloud and AI Infrastructure

Oracle has announced plans to raise between $45 billion and $50 billion in 2026 as it accelerates the expansion of its cloud infrastructure to meet surging demand from major technology and artificial intelligence clients....