Tesla Top Brass Take Serious Stand For Sustainability & EV Adoption In Australia

Featured Image Credit: (Left) teslamotors/Instagram, (Upper Right) Wikimedia Commons, (Lower Right) Mark Twidell/LinkedIn

Tesla Chairwoman Robyn Denholm and Energy Director Mark Twidell are pushing for sustainability and EV adoption in Australia. With the knowledge Denholm and Twidell have about sustainable energy, Australia might want to listen to two of Tesla's top brass.

Denholm Stands Firm On EV Adoption In Australia

Earlier this month, Denholm sat down with the Chief executive of the Electric Vehicle Council of Australia, Behyad Jafari. She briefly expressed her thoughts on the New South Wales (NSW) Government's proposal to tax electric car users based on the distance they’ve traveled. The tax would essentially be payment for road usage.

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Denholm called the tax “a bit crazy.” “It's not just about the disincentive for electric vehicles but it's actually denying consumers, the opportunity of participating in new technology," she said. "To add a premium on top of the use of that new technology seems a strange concept to me.”

Deholm stated that Australia risked being left behind if it didn’t adapt or accept new technology in the renewable energy market, reported The Sydney Morning Herald. "We have the opportunity of being a superpower in this renewable energy space because a lot of the components that go into an electric vehicle particularly on the battery side, we have here and most countries don't, we ship out the raw materials,” she said.

Twidell Fights To Accelerate Energy Market Reform In Australia

The Australia Institute published an open letter to The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council, urging it to prioritize the reforms in the country’s energy market. The letter stressed the importance of expanding the National Electricity Market in Australia so it would invite competition. More competition in the energy market could help the country transition to sustainable sources of power at a much faster rate.

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“Australia’s energy market rules are designed for a slow, old electricity grid built around coal and they are no longer fit for purpose. The faster we can move to a modern, responsive energy market, the sooner Australia can unlock its extraordinary renewable energy potential and all of the economic and environmental benefits that come with that,” explained Richie Merizian, the Director of The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program. Merizian’s words echoed Denholm’s thoughts.

Tesla Energy has flourished in Australia throughout the years, even when the EV automaker was distracted with Model 3 production. Tesla Powerpacks are being used at the Hornsdale Power Reserve. Powerpacks have also helped communities build virtual power plants that distribute clean electricity throughout the grid. Tesla’s work in Australia even helped make Autobidder, a platform that helps clean energy producers manage the power they generate.

Tesla Energy’s work in Australia indicates that the country could transition to a sustainable energy market. However, Australia must have the right laws and regulations in place to sustain such a transition.