Morrison’s Hunter gas plant to get planning green light
The NSW planning department has cleared the way for the Morrison government’s planned 660MW gas generator in the Hunter region, granting the project planning approval.
Loy Yang A and B stations to close in 2032
Victoria is facing an energy supply crunch, with two coal-fired power stations that provide half of the state’s electricity expected to shut down in just over a decade.
Carbon in power grid hits record low
A record low for the carbon intensity of power generation in the national grid has underscored the rapid decarbonisation of the electricity system as booming rooftop solar and increasing numbers of large-scale wind and solar farms force the retreat of coal power.
Australian carbon price surges 180 per cent
Companies voluntarily buying up carbon offsets amid a flurry of pledges to hit net zero emissions by 2050 have pushed up Australia’s official carbon price by 180 per cent over the past year.
AEMO sets out tender timeline for NSW’s rapid transition from coal to renewables
AEMO Services has unveiled its proposed development pathway for New South Wales’ ambitious electricity roadmap, setting a multi-decade long transformation plan that will see renewables and storage replace the state’s ageing coal fleet.
Chinese hackers target Australian energy company
Chinese hackers came within minutes of shutting down a series of power stations capable of lighting three million homes in a sneak cyber attack of a sort experts warn are becoming increasingly common – and which could be used to limit Australia’s ability to respond to a military crisis in the future.
Queensland wholesale power prices highest in country
People in regional Queensland are facing higher power bills as the state’s wholesale electricity price jumps to the highest in the country, an energy consumer group has warned.
AGL, Fortescue Future Industries in hydrogen deal for Liddell coal plant
Andrew Forrest is taking his hydrogen crusade into the heart of New South Wales coal country, with his Fortescue Future Industries set to play a role in transformation of AGL Energy’s Liddell plant into a green energy hub.
Alinta Energy’s $4bn offshore wind farm to power Alcoa’s Portland smelter
Alinta Energy has proposed a giant $4bn offshore wind farm that could supply Victoria’s Portland aluminium smelter and the broader east coast grid, one of the biggest bets yet on the renewable technology attracting support from big name investors.
Australia’s de facto carbon price hits $40/t as international markets take off after COP26
The positive sentiment in response to COP26 has begun to flow through the international carbon market, with agreements on rules for cross-border cooperation triggering record high prices in both compliance and voluntary markets – particularly for higher-end nature based offsets.
Marinus Link project likened to Snowy 2.0 in damning new report warning of ‘dead-weight loss’
A proposed undersea power cable and electricity storage project in Tasmania would not be able to compete with cheaper battery storage in Victoria, a report has found.
Funding boost to power offshore wind farms in Victoria
Australia’s fledgling offshore wind industry has been given a funding boost, with the Victorian government pledging almost $40 million towards proposals for three wind farms off the Gippsland coast.
Gas buyers fear fresh price surge amid Europe crunch
Prices for natural gas on the east coast have almost doubled over the past month, causing fresh worries for manufacturers all too aware of the crisis that surging prices has caused in Britain and Europe, where businesses have gone broke and plants closed down.
Shell acquisition heats up mass market retailing
Shell has further jacked up the competitive threat to traditional electricity suppliers such as AGL Energy, snapping up the 185,000 customers of online green retailer Powershop in what is the energy giant’s entry into the mass market for power on the east coast.
Scott Morrison’s electric vehicle goal ‘too low’, says Trevor St Baker
Energy billionaire and long-time Liberal donor Trevor St Baker has questioned Scott Morrison’s new electric vehicle strategy, believing the goal to have 1.7 million electric vehicles on Australian roads by 2030 is unambitious.
Australia needs to lift its game on R&D spending to reach net zero
A reliance on technological advances to cut emissions in the federal government’s net zero plan means Australia needs to significantly lift its investment in research and development, with the sector looking for a $2.4 billion fund ahead of next year’s election.
State moves to intervene in Palmer’s bid for coal-fired power station
The state government has moved to intervene in a bid by Clive Palmer to build a controversial coal-fired power station in Central Queensland.
Newcastle port eyes green hydrogen future
Macquarie Group, Snowy Hydro and Chinese-controlled pipeline owner Jemena are all involved in a group that will examine a potential green hydrogen hub in Newcastle that could have a capacity of 1 gigawatt by 2030.
Net-zero vow fails to ‘shift the dial’ as renewables investment stalls
Investment in Australia’s renewable energy industry is drying up as developers warn a disproportionate level of risk is deterring the build-out of the next wave of wind and solar projects urgently needed to wean the nation off fossil fuels.
Origin Energy sells APLNG stake for $2.1bn
Origin Energy may plough part of a $2bn windfall into clean energy and storage projects after it sold a stake in APLNG to private equity owner EIG, three years after the US player’s takeover bid for Santos was foiled.
Sun Cable eyes 4GW Singapore power purchase
Sun Cable, one of the world’s biggest renewable energy projects, has called for expressions of interest from potential customers in Singapore, after the Asian nation said it would import up to 4 gigawatts of electricity by 2035.
Renewables to supply 69 pct of Australia’s main grid by 2030, government projections show
Australia’s main electricity grid is predicted to surpass 50 per cent renewables by 2025, and will surge to 69 per cent renewables by 2030, updated projections published by the Morrison government say.
Mission Zero: Why Australia needs to ask the nuclear question
The federal government is now poised to make the historic announcement that Australia will set a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Scott Morrison reveals plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050
The Prime Minister has announced Australia’s plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 following lengthy — and at times very heated — debate between the Coalition.
Annastacia Palaszczuk reveals $1bn hydrogen manufacturing facility with Andrew Forrest
The largest hydrogen equipment facility will be built in central Queensland in a $1bn project Annastacia Palaszczuk declared was “as significant as getting the Olympics”.
NSW gives green light to a green hydrogen future
The NSW government will incentivise the production of green hydrogen as a fossil fuel replacement in a nation-leading policy that is forecast to help significantly decarbonise the economy and position the state as a global exporter of the energy source.
Carbon tax the one thing Aussies won’t cop in climate battle
Australians may have changed their tune on the need for a net-zero target but they will not cop a return to a carbon tax, Energy Minister Angus Taylor says.
Australia ‘at risk’ from global energy crunch
Australia faces pressure on gas prices as a global crunch spreads to the nation’s energy sector in a move that could further strain manufacturers and heavy industry, top industry executives have warned.
TransGrid predicts early coal closures
Australia’s fleet of coal-fired power stations face early closure due to rampant growth in renewables in a fast-paced move that piles pressure on achieving an orderly transition to clean energy, a blueprint by transmission giant TransGrid shows.
NSW to ditch coal power by 2040 with final plant to close early
The final NSW coal power plant will be shut by 2040 at the latest after EnergyAustralia’s decision to bring forward the closure date of its Mt Piper facility by at least two years in a bid to hit new green climate targets.
NSW aims to cut emissions in half by 2030 with $37 billion clean energy surge
The NSW Coalition government has dramatically increased its emissions reduction targets for 2030, setting a new goal of a 50 cut from 2005 levels as part of plans to be a “renewable energy superpower” and attract more than $37 billion in clean energy investment by the end of the decade.
The energy crisis wreaking havoc across the globe
The UK’s chaotic fuel crisis has a number of home-grown elements but underlying them is an increasingly global energy crunch.
AEMO installs early warning system for surplus solar and rooftop PV shutdowns
The Australian Energy Market Operator says it has developed a new early warning system to give advance notice that there could be too much rooftop solar in the grid and that some installations may need to be shutdown.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s clean energy export plan
Scott Morrison is preparing an integrated climate change plan to more swiftly transition Australia’s energy exports from fossil fuels towards new low emissions technologies and cleaner energy sources to avoid the nation being left behind as the world moves towards a net zero future.
Why Australia is a bigger carbon pariah than we think
The Glasgow summit on climate change is looming, and we continue to see Australia pretending to be a small emitter of carbon dioxide on the global stage.
Rooftop solar sends minimum demand to record low in coal dependent NSW
Another spring day, another milestone in the transition of Australia’s electricity grid.
Star of the South’s giant wind farm to power 20pc of Victoria
The developers of the $10bn Star of the South wind farm off Victoria’s Gippsland coast plan to supply 20 per cent of the state’s electricity needs once the giant Yallourn coal plant closes, providing a major source of renewable energy as the grid moves away from coal.
Australia’s hidden carbon market: New options allow companies to out-bid government
The federal government could cease being the primary buyer of Australian sourced carbon offsets, content to allow a surge in voluntary corporate pledges to carbon neutrality to do the heavy lifting of cutting Australia’s emissions.
NSW can end its coal power by 2030: Kean
NSW can stop using coal power by 2030 and meet a UN deadline for greater action on climate change, the state’s energy minister Matt Kean said.
AEMO’s new reliability forecasts give lie to Taylor’s Coalkeeper campaign
The Australian Energy Market Operator has forecast a vastly improved outlook for reliability over the next five years, and suggested that the biggest single risk is a major weather event – namely flooding – to the Yallourn brown coal generator in Victoria.
Renewable energy domination on the way: AEMO
An ambitious plan to have Australia’s entire power grid run from renewables for short bursts remains on track, with solar energy continuing to eat into the dominance of coal, the Australian Energy Market Operator says.
Ampol runs the ruler over Meridian’s renewable assets
The auction for Meridian Energy’s Australian renewable energy business could be about to get more interesting, with suggestions in the market that fuel retailer Ampol may be taking a look.
Power station flooding a summer energy risk for Victoria
According to the Australian Energy Market Operator, the biggest cloud hanging over reliable energy this summer is the potential unavailability of the Yallourn power station due to flooding.
Snowy Hydro wants transmission fast-tracked
Snowy Hydro has called for transmission to be fast-tracked to ensure generation from its Snowy 2.0 expansion can supply the power market and says finetuning the ¬details of a proposed payment mechanism being used to extend the life of coal and gas generators will be critical to its success.
PowAR targets backed-up renewables after $3bn Tilt deal
The AGL Energy-backed Powering Australian Renewables consortium will offer “firmed” clean energy supplies to industrial customers after completing its $3bn Tilt Renewables takeover even as the group warned that controversial energy reforms may derail investment in the sector.
Victoria greenlights six grid upgrades to act as wind and solar shock absorbers
The Victorian government will proceed with six key grid upgrade projects – boosting the capacity of the state’s networks to transport supplies of wind and solar – as it readies for a surge in investment across planned renewable energy zones.
Geelong’s Tesla Big Battery fire burns over weekend
A fire at French renewable energy giant Neoen’s Victorian Big Battery at Geelong continued to burn into Sunday, with fire crews awaiting experts from Tesla to assist in opening the Megapack battery that first caught ablaze.
Energy companies rush to prepare for five-minute settlements
Australian energy retailers are rushing to prepare for the introduction of five-minute settlements for the wholesale electricity market which comes into effect on October 1.