20 December 2024

CLIMATE POLITICS

Australia, UK ‘clean energy world leaders’ with climate agreement (The Australian): The agreement, to be announced at AUKMIN on Monday, will reinforce what the British described as ‘Australia’s ambition to lead the world on clean energy with a deal to bring climate finance to Pacific Island countries.’

Dutton says nuclear will cost $331 billion. Chalmers adds $4 trillion to that (WA Today): A nuclear Australia would grow 12 per cent slower every year until 2050, according to government analysis of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s power plan, with economists warning that less energy for the country will lead to a smaller economy. The long-awaited economic costings of Dutton’s nuclear energy policy, released last week, revealed the opposition is banking on an electricity grid that ends up 40 per cent smaller by 2050 than the government’s plan, which predicts the country to be almost entirely powered by renewables.

Nationals senator says Coalition introduced nuclear as a political fix (ABC News): Video has emerged of Nationals senator Matt Canavan labelling his party's nuclear policy a 'political fix' and conceding it is not the cheapest form of power, as a colleague quits the party over its approach to climate change. Senator Canavan told a podcast in August that his party was "not serious" about nuclear power.

Peter Dutton to revive Scott Morrison's 'gas-fired recovery' in election pledge to cut energy bills (ABC News): The Coalition is preparing a pre-election package promising to dramatically increase the supply of domestic gas, including through softer regulations, to push down energy bills for households and businesses. Details of the promise to voters, which follows months of consultation with the gas industry, are being calibrated to counter Labor's likely strategy of ongoing direct-to-households energy bill relief.

Albo’s $150m EV subsidy (Business News): The federal government will offer low interest loans for workers earning less than $100,000 a year to buy electric vehicles, under a new $150 million program. The loans, funded via the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, will be offered at interest rates up to five per centage points lower than standard rates – which could lower the price of a $40,000 vehicle by $8,000 over a 7-year loan term.

Albanese government approves four coalmine expansions as Greens condemn ‘despicable’ move (The Guardian): The Albanese government has approved the expansion of four coalmines that climate campaigners estimate will release more than 850m tonnes of CO2 over their lifetime – equivalent to almost double Australia’s annual emissions. The four mines will target mostly coal to be used for steelmaking with some thermal coal for burning in power stations.'

Inquiry into Nuclear Power Generation in Australia travels to Collie for public hearing (ABC News): Usually the domain of the blue collar worker, the small town of Collie has played host to numerous federal politicians in tailored suits in recent months. Both parties have sent their leaders and a steady stream of federal and state MPs to talk about their respective energy plans to the community, which is expecting to transition away from coal by 2030.

Neo Smelt announces new green steelmaking location in Kwinana Australia (WA Today): The West Australian government has announced Kwinana will be the location for Australia’s largest ironmaking electric smelting furnace, which in turning Pilbara iron ore into steel will finally make the state into “more than a quarry”. The announcement follows Australia’s largest steelmaker BlueScope, and its two largest iron ore producers, BHP and Rio Tinto, announcing earlier this year they would form the NeoSmelt consortium to develop the pioneering plant, with electric smelting the key to producing green iron and steel.  

Biden declares tougher 2035 emissions targets weeks before Trump return (The Guardian): Joe Biden has announced tougher targets on the US’s carbon dioxide emissions for the next decade, in a defiant final gesture intended as a “capstone” on his legacy on the climate. With just weeks to go before Donald Trump enters the White House, the Biden administration is formally filing new plans under the Paris agreement – the global climate treaty from which Trump has vowed to withdraw.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Bank shareholders reject climate disclosure for lending (The West Australian): Activists have failed to amend NAB's constitution to allow the business-focused bank to consider a non-binding climate change resolution. The effort received 4.2 per cent of the vote at NAB's annual general meeting on Wednesday, according to a preliminary tally, with 95 per cent of votes cast against the resolution.

‘Negative and wrong’: Green hydrogen players rebut Coalition claims (Australian Financial Review): Green hydrogen players have pushed back on Coalition assumptions that the industry won’t exist by 2050, with one warning any government that turned its back on the technology risked strangling economic growth. The Coalition’s nuclear power plan released last week stated Australia would require 40 per cent less energy by 2050 than the Albanese government had predicted, based in part on the assumption there would be no domestic green hydrogen industry.

GREEN PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES

Neoen lands $1.4 billion debt deal for old and new projects, including Australia’s biggest battery (Renew Economy): French renewable energy and storage developer Neoen has secured a $1.4 billion debt package for part of its wind, solar and battery portfolio in Australia, including what will be the country’s biggest battery project. Neoen, which has agreed to an $11 billion takeover from Brookfield Asset Management, says the debt package has come from 11 Australian and international lenders, including $100 million from the Clean Energy Finance Corp, and covers 1.3 GW of capacity.

Danfoss contributes to energy-efficient microgrid solution (Energy Magazine): In a groundbreaking initiative aimed at boosting sustainability of energy supply for a rural agribusiness, Danfoss has provided its cutting-edge inverter solution to the Cadell Almond Farm project in New South Wales. The 1690ha almond orchard relied on diesel generators to power its electric pumps – an unsustainable and environmentally taxing practice with an uncertain energy cost projection into the future. To transition such agribusinesses to a more sustainable energy model, AGL and PowerTec relied on Danfoss inverters, leveraging Danfoss’ innovative technology, strategic collaboration, and a forward-thinking approach.

Chevron picks up permit to assess further carbon capture near Barrow Island’s Gorgon LNG plant (The West Australian): A consortium led by Chevron has nabbed a big patch of ocean for a potential carbon storage project as industry ramps up efforts to make WA a hub for cutting global emissions. The company’s joint venture with Shell and Exxon Mobil was awarded a permit to assess greenhouse gas storage near Barrow Island, where Chevron runs the huge Gorgon gas export plant.

Global oil giant starts work on huge Australian solar and battery projects, takes swipe at nuclear (Renew Economy): Lightsource bp, the now fully owned renewable energy arm of oil major bp, has weighed in on Australia’s nuclear debate, after kicking off construction on its two latest “firmed renewables” projects in the country. Lightsource bp said on Monday that it commencing construction on its huge, 585 megawatt (MW) Goulburn River solar farm, located near Merriwa in New South Wales, and the 222 MW, up to 640 megawatt-hour (MWh) Woolooga battery energy storage system (BESS) near Gympie in Queensland.

Regulator rejects Basslink bid in draft decision on troubled undersea cable (Renew Economy): A bid to convert the Basslink undersea cable that links Tasmania to the mainland grid into a regulated transmission asset looks likely to be kiboshed by the regulator on the basis that it offers too little benefit to the energy market at too high a cost to consumers. Basslink, which allows for up to 500MW of electricity to be transferred between Tasmania and Victoria, was acquired by APA Group in 2022 after it ran into financial troubles triggered by a prolonged outage that was caused by a failure of its undersea cable in 2015.

Tasmania port tapped as key offshore wind hub, days after declaration of Bass Strait zone (Renew Economy): Days after the federal government declared a new offshore wind zone in the Bass Strait, the Tasmanian government has unveiled plans for the nearby Port of Bell Bay to host a renewable energy terminal and serve as a key hub for offshore wind development. TasPorts, the state-owned company responsible for eleven Tasmanian ports and the Devonport Airport, announced late last week its “bold vision” for the major deep-water industrial Port of Bell Bay, located close to the mouth of the Tamar River, Building on existing plans for the Port.

Solar project win for Perth-based Monford (Business News): East Perth-based Monford Group has been appointed principal engineering, procurement and construction contractor at the $250 million Glenellan solar farm in New South Wales. The 260-megawatt farm near Jindera will generate 500 gigawatt hours of energy, built across 310 hectares and comprise 372,000 solar panels.

GenusPlus, Lycopodium notch contracts (Business News): Belmont-based contractor GenusPlus has notched a $140 million contract from an east coast electricity distributor for work on a renewable energy project in New South Wales. Ausgrid tapped ASX-listed GenusPlus Group for work on the Hunter-Central coast renewable energy zone, one of five hubs being developed by the NSW government.

Zen inks deal with pumped hydro and hydrogen hopeful to help large energy users kick fossil habit (Renew Economy): Sunshine Hydro, a company proposing to combine pumped hydro energy storage with green hydrogen production, has signed a memorandum of understanding with renewable energy gentailer Zen Energy, to develop a “24/7 Sustainable Energy Strategy” for large consumers in Queensland. The agreement includes Zen providing renewable electricity to Sunshine Hydro’s green fuel facilities, and both companies using Sunshine Hydro’s advanced energy storage optimisation program, known as Aesop.

$4.8b HumeLink transmission line approved to connect Snowy Hydro 2.0 (ABC News): A controversial transmission line project seen by the federal government as critical to Australia's renewable energy transition has cleared its last major hurdle. The government has approved the $4.8 billion HumeLink project which will build 365 kilometres of new transmission lines in southern New South Wales, connecting Wagga Wagga, Bannaby and Maragle.

OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST

Energy grid's power imbalance could blow out bills, AER warns (The Australian Financial Review): The nation’s energy regulator has warned consumers may be paying more than they should for electricity because major coal and gas generators dominate the market at peak times despite a massive influx of new wind, solar and battery projects over the last two years. Clare Savage, chairwoman of the Australian Energy Regulator, said a major review of electricity market had revealed several issues, including a worrying concentration of power among traditional generators even as a crowd of renewable players dominate the market during the day.

WA capacity pricing benchmark swaps gas for batteries, and ups returns 57% (PV Magazine): The Western Australia (WA) Economic Regulation Authority (ERA) has determined both the peak and flexible benchmark reserve capacity prices for 2027/28 to be $360,700 / MW / year, representing a 57% jump on 2026/27. A change in the required reference technology has played a role in the increase, where previously the benchmark was a 160 MW 4tfdopen cycle gas turbine peaking generator and is now a 200 MW / 800 MWh lithium-ion battery, which is more expensive to build and install.

Energy market gets clear vision: Reform opens door for all to benefit from virtual power plants (AEMC): The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has released a final determination that allows virtual power plants to compete directly with large-scale generators in the energy market, to the benefit of all consumers through significant cost savings, lower emissions, and reduced energy prices. The reforms create efficiencies by allowing virtual power plants and commercial and industrial demand response and aggregated batteries to compete directly with traditional power stations.

Battery storage key to nailing renewable energy target of 82% by 2030: report (PV Magazine): A new report issued by clean energy think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF) highlights key factors accelerating Australia’s electricity sector transition toward the achievable target of 82% renewable energy by 2030. The report recommends, however, better policy, new investment and faster approvals are key to success for hitting the target, but outlines the pace of developments, particularly batteries as a reason to be confident.

Agrivoltaics improve agricultural yield in arid regions: UTAS global study (PV Magazine): University of Tasmania (UTAS) researchers have examined the benefits, or not, of agrivoltaic systems (AVS) in three countries and found the technology can most improve agricultural productivity in arid and semi-arid regions. Researching how sunlight interception from solar panels impacts soil moisture, drought resilience, electricity generation and agrifood production in Australia, Iran and Chad, the UTAS School of Engineering and Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) study calls on policymakers to incentivise AVS deployment in dryer regions by attracting public and private investment.

Chevron exits North West Shelf after 40 years in major asset swap with Woodside (WA Today): Woodside and Chevron have agreed to a major asset swap that will see the US oil and gas giant exit the North West Shelf project after 40 years as a non-operating partner in exchange for Woodside’s stake in the Wheatstone project. The proposal will see Chevron transfer its 16.67 per cent stake in the North West Shelf project, the NWS oil project, and its 20 per cent non-operating interest in Woodside’s Angel Carbon Capture and Storage project to the Australian company, plus a $400 million payment made in stages.

Coal demand hits record with Australia bulking up (Australian Financial Review): Australia dominates the list of nations developing or expanding coal mines aimed at export markets, tapping record demand for the carbon-polluting fuel, which is projected to edge higher until at least 2027. The analysis from the International Energy Agency, released at its Paris headquarters on Wednesday, found the world’s consumption of coal is set to rise 1 per cent this year to 8.77 billion tonnes.

Trinasolar hits record efficiency high 27.08% for HJT solar cells (PV Magazine): China-headquartered Trinasolar’s laboratory of photovoltaic science and technology (PVST) has announced a new 27.08% efficiency record for large-area high efficiency n-type fully passivated heterojunction (HJT) solar cells. The cell’s efficiency have been certified by the Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH) in Germany, confirming aanother world record for HJT efficiency, set by Trinasolar.

Cars in Australian cities are emitting less – but in the regions exhaust emissions are growing (The Conversation): Within five years, transport is expected to be Australia’s top source of greenhouse gas emissions. While renewables and storage are bringing down emissions from the electricity sector, emissions from transport are still growing. Our fleet of cars, trucks, diesel trains, planes and ships now emit almost 20% more than they did two decades ago. In car-dependent Australia, switching to electric vehicles will be necessary. This is beginning to happen. Despite recent drops in battery-electric vehicle sales, the hybrid market is growing strongly.