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Clean Energy Projects Law and Regulation (LAWS90267)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

Availability(Quotas apply)
April
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Australia is one part of a global movement toward clean energy, including energy generation, supply chains and transportation.

The kinds of projects being delivered are diverse, including those required to produce clean energy, and all ‘supporting’ projects crucial to the energy transition such as storage and mining. A few examples include:

  • ‘big batteries’, both artificial (such as lithium-ion battery terminal stations), natural (such as pumped hydro) and hybrid (such as compressed air energy storage) storage solutions
  • hydrogen generation and supply chains
  • ancillary industries including electrolyser manufacturing and ammonia production facilities
  • wind farms, both onshore and offshore
  • industrial scale solar arrays
  • carbon capture and storage technologies
  • increased transmission interconnectivity, including overland transmission lines and subsea transmission cables
  • projects which combine these elements (eg solar or wind farms in a remote location, linked to the place of supply by subsea cables).

The law (private and public) and practice relating to the successful planning, procurement, risk allocation and delivery of these projects is equally diverse and evolving. Certain aspects of that law and practice is unique to Australia, however Australia's clean energy future is part of global technological ecosystems and supply chains, and global trends continue to influence the legal and practical issues arising from these kinds of projects.

This subject seeks to provide students with an understanding of the private and public law affecting these projects individually, and the overarching themes that connect these projects as part of a global trend.

This subject seeks to equip lawyers and industry professionals with the expertise required to provide appropriate advice, or suggest regulatory reforms, in relation to projects in the clean energy transition. In particular, it will explore the issues which arise due to the untested technologies implemented in this transition, a new and evolving landscape of regulatory frameworks, and ancillary issues such as supply chain security, local community engagement and the rise of governments mandating ‘friend-shoring’.

The subject lecturers are Sean Kelly and Raeesa Rawal, senior lawyers in Melbourne and London respectively who are working on the global clean energy transition.

The subject will take students through a life cycle of a clean energy project from initiation through to resolving disputes and decommissioning.

Principal topics will include:

  • Introduction to the clean energy transition and overview of the kinds of projects that are involved.
  • Project funding, equity and ownership structures, insurance issues on projects involving nascent international supply chains and cross-border joint ventures.
  • Planning, approvals and environmental regulation, and project envelope, including various Australian state/territory and Commonwealth environmental and planning regulatory regimes, land rights and water access issues, and potential application of royalty regimes.
  • Procurement and contracting models, risk allocation issues and delivery risks on a project type-by-type basis, including hypothetical risk scenarios and lessons learned from Australian and international jurisprudence.
  • Transmission and connectivity issues, such as high-voltage above ground transmission, subsea cables, trucking and pipeline reform, such as State-based pipeline legislation and Commonwealth Heavy Vehicle National Law and Regulations.
  • OH&S framework, including Safety on-site: construction sites, sites involving handling of dangerous substances, and Australian state/territory-based dangerous goods legislation.
  • International investment and trade, including Investor-state dispute settlement and international shipping standards for nascent assets (eg, liquified hydrogen) and the UN Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea.

Intended learning outcomes

A student who has successfully completed this subject should be able to: 

  • Identify elements of the clean energy transition in Australia, including project types, regulatory contexts and key risks.
  • Evaluate and analyse the current legal, regulatory and common contractual frameworks relevant to the clean energy transition in Australia.
  • Apply hypothetical clean energy project scenarios to the current legal, regulatory and common contractual frameworks relevant to the clean energy transition in Australia.
  • Explain and analyse potential future development of the legal, regulatory and common contractual frameworks relevant to the clean energy transition in Australia.
  • Survey and research issues arising on historically analogous projects and analyse and apply research outcomes to hypothetical clean energy project scenarios and potential future development of the legal, regulatory and common contractual frameworks relevant to the clean energy transition in Australia.
  • Contribute meaningfully to ongoing discussions in this field to optimise policy outcomes.

Generic skills

  • An advanced understanding of the changing knowledge base in the relevant area(s) of law.
  • An ability to investigate, evaluate, synthesise and apply existing knowledge in the relevant area(s) with creativity and initiative.
  • The capacity to effectively communicate complex legal ideas and theories, orally and in writing, to a variety of audiences.
  • An appreciation of the way in which knowledge provides a foundation for leadership.
  • An understanding of the significance and value of knowledge to the wider community.
  • The capacity to engage with issues in contemporary society.
  • An advanced working skills in the use of new technology.

Last updated: 29 February 2024

Eligibility and requirements

Prerequisites


Corequisites


Non-allowed subjects


Recommended background knowledge

Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.

Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)

The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.

Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home

Last updated: 29 February 2024

Assessment

DescriptionTimingPercentage

In-class test

  • 1 hours
During the teaching period20%

Written assignment

  • 4000 words
12 June 202480%
Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance is required.N/A

Last updated: 29 February 2024

Quotas apply to this subject

Dates & times

  • April
    Principal coordinatorSean Kelly
    Mode of deliveryOn Campus (Parkville)
    Contact hours
    Total time commitment150 hours
    Pre teaching start date18 March 2024
    Pre teaching requirementsPlease refer to the Reading Guide on the LMS subject page for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences.
    Teaching period15 April 2024 to 19 April 2024
    Last self-enrol date22 March 2024
    Census date16 April 2024
    Last date to withdraw without fail24 May 2024
    Assessment period ends19 June 2024

    April contact information

    Lecturers

    Sean Kelly (Coordinator)
    Raeesa Rawal

    Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
    Phone: 13 MELB (13 6352), International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
    Website: law.unimelb.edu.au

What do these dates mean

Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:

  • Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
  • And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
    - Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).

    Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.

Additional delivery details

This subject has a quota of 30 students.

Enrolment is on a 'first in' basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.

Students should note priority of waitlisted places in subjects will be given as follows:

  • To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
  • To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.

Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.

Melbourne Law School may reserve places in a subject for incoming international cohorts or where a subject is core to a specialisation with limited alternate options.

Last updated: 29 February 2024

Further information

  • Texts

    Prescribed texts

    Specialist materials will be made available via the LMS in the pre-teaching period.

  • Links to additional information

    law.unimelb.edu.au

  • Available through the Community Access Program

    About the Community Access Program (CAP)

    This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.

    Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.

    Additional information for this subject

    If required, please contact law-masters@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.

  • Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students

    This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.

Last updated: 29 February 2024