12 July 2024

CLIMATE POLITICS

Too uncertain, too slow: funds rule out financing Dutton nuclear plan (Financial Review):  Investment chiefs from the country’s biggest superannuation funds will not bankroll Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s nuclear power plan, despite strong appetite for other energy transition assets and a shortage of domestic investment opportunities.  Aware Super CIO Damian Graham said the production timelines on nuclear were too long to help meet the fund’s own net-zero targets.  His counterpart at UniSuper, John Pearce, said nuclear investments would not make money for members fast enough, while Cbus ruled it out completely.

Without a massive grid upgrade, the Coalition’s nuclear plan faces a high-voltage hurdle (The Conversation):  Keeping the lights on in Australia is a complex task.  Enough capacity must be ensured everywhere in the country, at every moment.  Surplus in one location won’t solve shortages in another, unless we have the transmission infrastructure to transmit electricity between them.  The transmission network largely consists of high-voltage lines and towers, as well as transformers which transfer electrical energy from one circuit to another.

CARBON MARKETS

NSW unveils net zero board to keep emission reductions on target (Renew Economy):  The inaugural chair and commissioners aboard a body hoped to help meet emissions reduction targets have been revealed.  The seven commissioners and their chair on the NSW Net Zero Commission, created in December when the state legislated targets, will report annually to the government about its progress.

New tools democratise greenhouse gas management (Financial Review):  With the looming requirement for suppliers to big businesses to disclose their environmental impacts or lose work, smaller firms need to find cost-effective ways to measure and manage their carbon emissions.  Enterprising small businesses are turning to platforms like TEM Online to help them do this.  The business has won the Technology, Media and Telecommunications category in The Australian Financial Review Sustainability Leaders list.  TEM Online is a digital marketplace for carbon offsets that businesses can buy to counterbalance the emissions their operations produce.  It’s part of carbon offsets specialists Tasman Environmental Markets.

Australia CCS will struggle to scale without bipartisan political support, conference hears (Carbon Pulse):  Australia’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry will struggle to scale and be part of achieving the country’s climate goals without further political support, an expert told a conference Wednesday.

Australian DAC startup raises A$10 mln (Carbon Pulse):  An Australian carbon removal tech startup has raised A$10 million ($6.7 mln) in seed funding as it gears up to meet its target of capturing 1 billion tonnes of CO2 per year by 2032.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

South Australia locks in federal funds to become first grid in world to reach 100 per cent net wind and solar (Renew Economy):  South Australia has locked in federal funding to ensure that it becomes the first non-hydro grid in the world to reach 100 per cent net renewables.  The funding deal – through what’s known as a Renewable Energy Transformation Agreement – means that the federal government will underwrite a minimum one gigawatt of new wind and solar generation capacity and another 400 MW (1,600 MWh) of storage – to ensure it meets its target of 100 per cent net renewables by 2027.

Offshore wind farm proponent takes Bowen to court after missing out on licence:  A company with plans to build one of Australia's first offshore wind farms is taking federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen to court over a decision not to grant its licence to move forward with the project.  Flotation Energy had proposed to build the Seadragon windfarm, including up to 150 wind turbines and a network of subsea cables, off the coast of Gippsland in Victoria. 

GREEN PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES

Green bank backs cheap loans to unlock EVs, solar and batteries for business (Renew Economy):  The Australian government is investing $50 million to support discounted loans for small and medium-sized businesses wanting to purchase solar, batteries, electric vehicles, and energy efficient equipment.  The $50 million commitment from the Australian government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is being poured into the $250 million MetroEco green securitisation warehouse being run by Metro – an independent non-bank lender which specialises in auto and equipment finance for businesses, car finance for consumers, and novated leasing.

New community batteries for NT (Energy Magazine):  The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will support Power and Water Corporation in providing 16 new batteries on the Darwin-Katherine electricity grid.  Once online, the batteries are expected to have a significant impact on local network constraints and will expand rooftop solar capacity, reduce emissions and keep power prices as affordable as possible.

Australian solar glass company lands another US greenhouse order (Renew Economy):  Perth based smart building materials company ClearVue Technologies says it has landed a repeat order for its clear solar glass solutions for greenhouses from the United States.  The ClearVue solar glazing technology allows visible light to pass through a pane of glass while the invisible wavelengths of light are deflected to the edges of the glass where they are then converted into electricity.

Waste-to-energy plants fire up south of Perth (Business News):  Two energy plants built to convert municipal and commercial waste into electricity to power homes are on the cusp of being operational, following lengthy delays.  Acciona’s $700 million Kwinana Energy Recovery plant last month fired its boilers on gas for the first time and is close to firing on waste energy.

Local council approves gigawatt-scale battery near old coal plant (Renew Economy):  Octopus Australia says it has received local planning approval for its proposed one gigawatt hour (GWh) Blackstone battery that it proposes to build near the site of the old Swanbank coal generator near Brisbane.  The planning approval was provided by the Ipswich City Council for the 500 MW/1000 MWh battery project, which will be one of the largest in the state when complete, and five times the size of the biggest battery in Queensland currently commissioned at Chinchilla.

Queensland breaks ground on $5b transmission project (Financial Review):  Work has begun on the Queensland government’s $5 billion long-awaited project to build a power transmission line from Townsville to Mount Isa, with the first soil turned on the construction of staff accommodation.  The work at Hughenden, a small North Queensland town 1400 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, is the first construction work on the CopperString electricity transmission project to install an 840-kilometre high-voltage line between the two cities.  It is part of the Labor government’s target to reach 80 per cent renewable energy by 2035.

Downer EDI pitches in on flailing EnergyConnect construction (Financial Review):  Downer EDI has started assisting Spain’s Elecnor on the NSW side of the $2.3 billion EnergyConnect cable from South Australia, as grid owner Transgrid tries to prevent a collapse of the troubled project critical for the transition to low-carbon energy.  Downer’s arrival to support the Spanish group comes as Transgrid considers bringing in more contractors to replace Elecnor.

Giant Brisbane battery trebles in size after Origin extends deal for life beyond baseload (Renew Economy):  The already giant Supernode battery project in the north of Brisbane is to treble in size after the developer Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners extended its off-take deal with Australia’s biggest utility, Origin Energy.  The first stage of the battery – sized at 250 MW and 520 MWh – is already under construction after the two companies announced an off take agreement earlier this year.

Lyon Group boss returns with a new grand plan – for 20GW of outback hydrogen plan (Renew Economy):  Former Lyon Group chair David Green is still chasing the dream of $2/kg renewable hydrogen, with a new venture that is proposing not one but two enormous 10 gigawatt (GW) green hydrogen electrolyser projects in Australia.  The details are still light, but his new company Climate Impact Corporation (CIC) wants to build one project in the Northern Territory and one in South Australia.

New consultation round opened for giant pumped hydro project (Renew Economy):  Queensland Hydro is asking locals to weigh in on the development of Australia’s third largest pumped hydro project, the 2 gigawatt (GW), 24 hour (48GWh) Borumba proposal.  Only Snowy 2.0 at 2.2 GW and Queensland’s other behemoth, the proposed 5 GW Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project, are larger.  The consultation comes three years after the project was first proposed and a year after the initial feasibility study was supposed to be completed.

Gillard-chaired investor makes first big battery play as it seeks to build 15 GW energy platform (Renew Economy):  ASX listed asset manager HMC Capital has announced the first investment of its Energy Transition platform, chaired by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, as it seeks to build a 15 gigawatt renewable energy and storage platform.  The first investment will see approximately $50 million poured into Sydney based battery energy storage system (BESS) developer, owner, and operator, Stor-Energy, which is led by former Infigen and Spark Renewables CEO Gerard Dover, and is seeking to build a portfolio of six battery storage projects across the main grid.

BayWa seeks approval for giant 800MWh battery near Gladstone, wind and battery hybrid in Victoria (Renew Economy):  German renewable energy developer BayWa r.e. has filed for federal approval to develop two major renewable and storage projects, including a 200MW/800MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Gladstone, Queensland.  The Hughes Road battery is planned for a site around 12kms south of the city, a major port for coal and LNG exports that has now become a centre for renewable and green hydrogen projects.

OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST

New big battery breaks habit, goes for morning stretch and takes state to new record (Renew Economy):  The newly connected Broken Hill battery has helped NSW beat a short-lived record for battery charging and discharging, breaking the habit of a lifetime – in its case a whole week – to feed back into the grid in the morning peak rather than the evening peak.  The 50 MW/100 MWh Broken Hill battery, owned by coal giant AGL, has suffered lengthy delays in its connection process but is now finally working through its final commissioning process.

Future Kwinana industry and jobs ‘choked’ by state government inaction (WA Today):  Western Australia’s heavy industry strip wants a flood of state investment to secure the land, infrastructure, clean energy, and skilled workforce it needs to avoid lost opportunities in an area that supports more than 40,000 jobs.  Kwinana Industries Council chief executive David Harrison said the area was vital to WA’s day-to-day needs – such as petrol, LPG, concrete and fertiliser – as well as to the state’s ability to seize new opportunities, but it was not ready to seize them.

This trailblazer turns destructive weed into a replacement for coal (Financial Review):  Biomass Projects has plans to build the world’s largest biochar production on a 225,000-hectare Pilbara plot that is overrun with mesquite.  Richard Paterson is on a mission to drive a carbon removal project in Western Australia that could rid the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions from 2.2 million cars.  The founder of Biomass Projects, which has been recognised as an Innovator to Watch in The Australian Financial Review Sustainability Leaders list, says carbon removal is crucial to limiting global warming to below 2 degrees.

Transport needs to avoid becoming the nation’s biggest emitter (Financial Review):  Without dramatic changes, this may be the last industry to decarbonise.  Aurizon, the winner of the Logistics and Transport category, aims to change that with its electric locomotive.  Aurizon, the nation’s largest rail freight operator, unveiled a heavy haul battery electric locomotive last year, designed in collaboration with Progress Rail (owned by Caterpillar).  The retrofitted engine is part of a $50 million, five-year capital program to decarbonise Aurizon’s fleet of 600-plus locomotives, which account for 90 per cent of its carbon emissions.

Squadron says innovation needed to overcome jump in wind costs, but nuclear not the answer (Renew Economy):  The CEO of the Andrew Forrest owned renewables developer Squadron Energy says the cost of developing onshore wind energy projects has jumped by up to 50 per cent over the past four years, presenting industry with a “very big challenge” as it works to deliver tens of gigawatts of new capacity in Australia.  Speaking at Australia Wind Energy 2024 in Melbourne on Wednesday, Squadron chief Rob Wheals said industry would need to act swiftly to overcome the jump in wind costs that, alongside other roadblocks, are getting in the way of scaling up development.

China building two-thirds of world's wind and solar projects (The Guardian):  The amount of wind and solar power under construction in China is now nearly twice as much as the rest of the world combined, a report has found.  Research published on Thursday by Global Energy Monitor (GEM), a NGO, found that China has 180 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale solar power under construction and 15GW of wind power.  That brings the total of wind and solar power under construction to 339GW, well ahead of the 40GW under construction in the US.