Tony Wood (Australian businessman)

Last updated

Tony Wood, Grattan Institute's Energy Program Director speaks at the University of Adelaide (2014) Tony Wood, Grattan Institute's Energy Program Director speaks at the University of Adelaide 2014.jpg
Tony Wood, Grattan Institute's Energy Program Director speaks at the University of Adelaide (2014)

Tony Wood is an Australian businessman and Energy Program Director at the Grattan Institute. He has become a prominent spokesperson for the institute since his appointment in 2011, and has written 32 articles for The Conversation related to energy, climate change and energy policy. [1] From 2002 to 2008 he was executive general manager of Origin Energy, where he held executive positions for a total of 14 years. Wood has declared interests as a shareholder of BHP Billiton and Origin Energy. [2]

Contents

Career

Wood has worked in the energy, transport, chemical and fertiliser industries. He contributed to the Garnaut Climate Change Review in 2008 and worked with the Clinton Foundation from 2009 to 2014 as director of its Clean Energy programme. He was appointed director of the energy programme at the Grattan Institute in mid-2011, and has represented it in publications, [3] on radio [4] and at public forum. [5] He was on the executive board of the Committee for Melbourne and the Green Energy Taskforce of the Northern Territory Government. He has also worked as a financial advisor for PricewaterhouseCoopers [6] and has served as Chairperson of the Energy Retailers Association of Australia.[ citation needed ]

His areas of interest include natural gas, carbon capture and storage, solar power and nuclear power. [6] [7]

Nuclear power

In 2011, Wood contributed a chapter on "Nuclear power in Australia's energy future" to Australia's nuclear options, a policy perspective document for the Committee for Economic Development of Australia. He argued that the need to reduce carbon emissions in order to limit the impacts of climate change should bring into consideration the possibility of nuclear power in Australia. [7] In February 2012, Wood told interviewer Andrew Charlton that "the cost or acceptability of nuclear energy would remain a challenge in Australia." [8] Wood's publications on The Conversation declare him to be a shareholder in BHP Billiton (a resources company engaged in uranium mining and a Foundation Partner of the Grattan Institute). [2]

Solar power

In 2015, Wood told the ABC that the environmental benefits achieved by Australia's take-up of solar photovoltaic panels had come at great cost to Australian taxpayers- a net cost of "about $9 billion". He said "in the time that we had could have done a lot better, with that money, or we could have actually reduced greenhouse gas emissions a lot more cheaply... and then we could have been moving onto a different future for solar." "Solar with batteries in the future might be a much better way." John Grimes responded in defence of solar panel deployment, stating that the report Wood was referring to was "cherry-picking", and was "designed to cast solar PV in the worst possible light." [9]

Education

Tony Wood has a postgraduate diploma in business administration from the Queensland Institute of Technology and a master's degree in Science (Physical chemistry) from the University of Queensland.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

BHP Anglo-Australian multinational mining and petroleum company

BHP, formerly known as BHP Billiton, is the trading entity of BHP Group Limited and BHP Group plc, an Anglo-Australian multinational mining, metals and petroleum dual-listed public company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Sustainable energy Use of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations

The use of energy is considered sustainable if it meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. Definitions of sustainable energy typically include environmental aspects such as greenhouse gas emissions, and social and economic aspects such as energy poverty.

Climate change mitigation Actions to limit the magnitude of climate change and its impact on human activities

Climate change mitigation consists of actions to limit global warming and its related effects. This involves reductions in human emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) as well as activities that reduce their concentration in the atmosphere.

Energy policy of the United Kingdom Overview of the energy policy of the United Kingdom

The current energy policy of the United Kingdom is the responsibility of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), after the Department of Energy and Climate Change was merged with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in 2016. Energy markets are also regulated by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem).

A low-carbon economy (LCE), low-fossil-fuel economy (LFFE), or decarbonised economy is an economy based on low-carbon power sources that therefore has a minimal output of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere, specifically carbon dioxide. GHG emissions due to anthropogenic (human) activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mid-20th century. Continued emission of greenhouse gases may cause long-lasting changes around the world, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive, and irreversible effects for people and ecosystems.

Energy policy of Australia Overview of the energy policy of Australia

The energy policy of Australia is subject to the regulatory and fiscal influence of all three levels of government in Australia, although only the State and Federal levels determine policy for primary industries such as coal.

Mark Diesendorf Australian academic and environmentalist

Mark Diesendorf is an Australian academic and environmentalist, known for his work in sustainable development and renewable energy. He currently teaches environmental studies at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He was formerly professor of environmental science and founding director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology, Sydney and before that a principal research scientist with CSIRO, where he was involved in early research on integrating wind power into electricity grids. His most recent book is Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change.

Renewable energy in Australia Overview of renewable energy in Australia

Renewable energy in Australia includes wind power, hydroelectricity, solar PV, heat pumps, geothermal, wave and solar thermal energy.

Fossil fuel phase-out Stopping burning coal, oil and gas

Fossil fuel phase-out is the gradual reduction of the use of fossil fuels to zero. It is part of the ongoing renewable energy transition. Current efforts in fossil fuel phase-out involve replacing fossil fuels with sustainable energy sources in sectors such as transport, and heating. Alternatives to fossil fuels include electrification, hydrogen and aviation biofuel.

Low-carbon power Power produced with lower carbon dioxide emissions

Low-carbon power is electricity produced with substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fossil fuel power generation. The energy transition to low-carbon power is one of the most important actions required to limit climate change. Power sector emissions may have peaked in 2018.

Nuclear power in Australia Overview of nuclear power in Australia

The prospect of nuclear power in Australia has been a topic of public debate since the 1950s. Australia has never had a nuclear power station. Australia hosts 33% of the world's uranium deposits and is the world's third largest producer of uranium after Kazakhstan and Canada.

Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia totalled 533.36 million tonnes CO
2
-equivalent based on Greenhouse Gas national inventory report data for 2019; representing per capita CO2e emissions of 21.03 tons. Australia uses principally coal power for electricity but this is rapidly decreasing with a growing share of renewables making up the energy supply mix, and most existing coal-fired power station scheduled to cease operation between 2022-2048. Emissions by the country have started to fall and are expected to continue to fall in coming years as more renewable projects come online.

Mark Z. Jacobson

Mark Zachary Jacobson is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University and director of its Atmosphere/Energy Program. Jacobson has developed computer models to study the effects of fossil fuel and biomass burning on air pollution, weather, and climate.

Barry Brook (scientist)

Barry William Brook is an Australian scientist. He is an ARC Australian Laureate Professor and Chair of Environmental Sustainability at the University of Tasmania in the Faculty of Science, Engineering & Technology. He was formerly an ARC Future Fellow in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Adelaide, Australia, where he held the Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change from 2007 to 2014. He was also Director of Climate Science at the Environment Institute.

<i>Energiewende</i> Ongoing energy transition in Germany

The Energiewende is the ongoing transition by Germany to a low carbon, environmentally sound, reliable, and affordable energy supply. The new system intends to rely heavily on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy demand management. The last nuclear power plant will shut down in 2022, all existing coal-fired generation will be retired by 2038. Legislative support for the Energiewende was passed in late 2010 and included greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of 80–95% by 2050 and a renewable energy target of 60% by 2050.

UCL Australia was an international campus of the University College London, located on Victoria Square in Adelaide, South Australia. It had three parts: the School of Energy and Resources (SERAus), the International Energy Policy Institute (IEPI) and a branch of UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory. UCL Australia described its university community as "welcoming, dynamic and influential." The campus closed in December 2017.

Anthony 'Tony' David Owen is an economist and academic, currently employed as Emeritus Professor in Energy Economics at University College London Australia. He was appointed to the position in July 2013, and was previously Academic Director of the School of Energy and Resources at its campus in Adelaide, Australia. He also held the Santos Chair in Energy Resources at the time. He previously held positions at Curtin University of Technology and the University of New South Wales, and worked as a consultant and visiting appointee in North America, Europe and Asia. In 2007 he chaired the Inquiry into Electricity Supply in New South Wales. Owen wrote a book entitled The economics of uranium, which was published by Praeger in 1985. Since then, Owen has written periodically on the possibility of nuclear power in Australia, including for the Committee for Economic Development of Australia in 2011. His academic papers have featured in peer-reviewed journals such as Energy Policy, Economic Record, Agenda and the Journal of Nuclear Research and Development. He also edited the book The Economics of Climate Change with Nick Hanley which was published by Routledge, London in 2004.

Timothy John Stone, CBE is a British businessman and senior expert adviser with interests in infrastructure, finance, nuclear power and water supply. He is a non-executive director of the Arup Group, power company Horizon Nuclear Power and is a former senior expert non-executive director on the board of the European Investment Bank. He was also a non-executive director of Anglian Water from 2011 to 2015. He was appointed Chair of the UK's Nuclear Industry Association in October 2018.

Ken Baldwin is professor of physics at the Australian National University (ANU). He is the deputy director of the Research School of Physics and Engineering and the director of the [http://energy.anu.edu.au/ ANU Energy Change Institute].

Renewable energy transition

The renewable energy transition is the ongoing energy transition which is replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. This transition can impact many aspects of life including the environment, society, the economy and governance.

References

  1. "Tony Wood". The Conversation. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 Wood, Tony. "Could smaller be better? Shrinking the carbon tax scheme" . Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  3. "Tony Wood - Articles". The Conversation. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  4. Vanstone, Amanda (11 November 2013). "Getting gas right". Radio National - Counterpoint. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  5. "Australia's technology future - leader or follower?" (PDF). Institute of Mineral & Energy Resources. University of Adelaide. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Tony Wood". Grattan Institute. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  7. 1 2 Australia's nuclear options - CEDA policy perspective (PDF). Melbourne, Australia: CEDA. 2011. ISBN   0 85801 277 4.
  8. "054 transcript energy 20120215" (PDF). grattan.edu.au. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  9. "Expensive solar subsidies, but pay-off to come says Grattan report". Radio National. Retrieved 28 May 2015.