24 June 2022

CLIMATE POLITICS

?Anthony Albanese says cleaner, cheaper energy will be 'big transformation' this decade (SBS News): Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has outlined his government's priorities for its first budget, highlighting cheaper child care, a plan to establish new jobs and skills, and climate action. Mr Albanese told ABC's 7.30 that cleaner, cheaper energy would be "the big transformation" this decade. "Last week (we) changed our nationally determined contribution of 43 per cent by 2030 reduction," he said. "And that will have a range of policy implications and they'll be there for all to see in the budget," he said.?

WA outlines plan to cut government emissions by 80 per cent by 2030 (SBS News): An interim plan to slash government emissions by 2030 shows Western Australia is serious about tackling climate change, the premier says. The state government on Thursday announced it will target a whole-of-government emissions reduction of 80 per cent below 2020 levels. It will apply to emissions from all state government agencies including transport, health and education and government trading enterprises.?

Australia has a once in a lifetime chance to break stranglehold fossil fuels have on politics (Renew Economy): In the wake of the Green and Teal wave that crashed through the federal parliament, attention has inevitably turned to what the new crossbenchers will say and do about climate policy. So far, attention has focused on Australia’s 2030 emissions reduction target, and whether the Teals will pressure the new Labor government to increase its relatively unambitious) target, to which it has now formally committed. There’s a much more important question to ask. That is, how will any new target actually be reached?

Bowen handballs capacity mechanism fossil fuel choice to states (Renew Economy): Individual states will be left to decide which technologies may be included in a potential capacity mechanism, federal energy minister Chris Bowen says, but they will also need to ensure Australia can achieve its new 2030 emissions reduction target. On Monday, the Energy Security Board published a new draft design for adding a capacity mechanism to the National Electricity Market, which it says are needed to “reduce the risk of a disorderly transition” as ageing coal and gas generators are replaced by lower-cost and lower emissions renewable energy sources.

Labor discount plan to bring down cost of electric cars to take effect on July 1 (The Driven): Some electric vehicle models should become cheaper from July 1, with the Albanese government confirming it will honour a promise to provide exemptions from certain federal taxes from the start of that month. The Driven has confirmed that the Albanese government intends to fulfil its promised “Electric Vehicle Discount” policy, which will provide exemptions to certain import tariffs and fringe benefits taxes, with effect from 1 July 2022. The import tariff levies a 5 per cent tax on cars brought to Australia from overseas manufacturers, adding thousands to the cost of a new vehicle.

CARBON MARKETS

Clean Energy Regulator mulls carbon offsets for mining waste and carbonates (Renew Economy):?One of Australia’s largest resources companies could soon be claiming carbon offsets for greenhouse gas emissions captured by waste products from its mining operations. The AFR reports that the Clean Energy Regulator is considering the introduction of a new carbon offset methodology under the Emissions Reduction Fund that would recognise the storage of carbon dioxide in mine tailings – the leftover waste material from mining activities – after BHP found that significant amounts of carbon dioxide were already being captured and stored in waste from nickel mining.?

Western Australia amends laws to begin earning ACCUs (Carbon Pulse): The Western Australian state government has amended legislation to allow its Forest Products Commission (FPC) to earn and trade Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) and other carbon assets, in a bid to ramp up the state’s carbon farming industry.

ACCU watchers report growing liquidity as minister expects Safeguard Mechanism to “supercharge” market (Carbon Pulse): Brokers and analysts are reporting growing liquidity in Australia’s carbon market, as Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen told a conference on Friday that the implementation of the Safeguard Mechanism will “supercharge” the market.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Bluewaters Power Station: Synergy won’t renew contract with Collie coal plant (The West Australian): Synergy’s contract with privately-owned Bluewaters Power Station expires in 2025 and will not be renewed – placing the future of the Collie coal plant and the nearly 60 workers it employs in jeopardy. The revelation there are fewer than three years to run on one of Bluewaters’ key supply deals comes in the same week the McGowan Government announced it would shut Collie’s two State-owned coal plants by 2030. Collie Power Station will close in late-2027 while the last remaining generators at Muja Power Station will cease operating by the end of 2029.

Coal mine fined for 'unacceptable' damage to world-renowned NSW rock formations (ABC News): An Australian coal mining giant has been fined for damaging sandstone formations, some estimated to be millions of years old, in a New South Wales conservation area. "Following an investigation by our compliance officers, we have determined the breaches are unacceptable," a DPIE spokesperson said. But there were fears the destruction in the Mugii Murrum-Ban State Conservation Area (SCA) could be worse than currently understood and the full extent of the damage would take years to uncover.

Conservation group seeks injunction to stop Woodside gas project to protect Great Barrier Reef (ABC News): The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has applied for an injunction against Woodside's Scarborough gas project, asking that it be halted until new federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has assessed whether the operation will damage the Great Barrier Reef by exacerbating climate change. ACF boss Kelly O’Shanassy said the west coast project posed a major risk to Australia's precious World Heritage site.

Why IFM’s new climate fund must buy fossil fuel companies (Australian Financial Review): IFM Investors, one of Australia’s biggest asset managers, has launched a fund aimed at satisfying industry super investors that want to invest member’s money in shares that will encourage decarbonisation. The catch is that the former Coalition government’s performance rules limit the degree to which such an investment can deviate from the benchmark ASX300.

GREEN PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES

Woodside, Fortescue in race to pick up NZ green hydrogen project (Sydney Morning Herald): Woodside and Fortescue are both throwing their hats in the ring to develop a green hydrogen plant in New Zealand that will use renewable energy freed up by the possible closure of a Rio Tinto aluminium smelter. Southern Green Hydrogen, a joint venture of two NZ power providers, has announced that WA’s two largest companies would enter final negotiations to develop what could be the world’s largest green hydrogen plant with a reported cost of about $4.5 billion. Both Woodside and Fortescue are keen to diversify into hydrogen as a clean fuel to decarbonise industries that are difficult to electrify, including shipping and steel-making, but have clashed over the best approach.

Huge NSW wind project locks in offtake deal with Snowy Hydro (Renew Economy): Construction of a 414MW wind farm in central western New South Wales will go ahead later this year after the huge project secured an offtake deal with federal government-owned gen-tailer, Snowy Hydro. The deal between project developer CWP Renewables and Snowy Hydro will see Snowy purchase 200MW of the output of the Uungula wind farm and renewable energy certificates for a 15-year term. The massive project, which has secured development approval, is now gearing up for construction 14km east of Wellington, in the New South Wales central-west Renewable Energy Zone.

Rio Tinto calls on renewables to power Queensland aluminium operations (Sydney Morning Herald): Mining heavyweight Rio Tinto has issued a call for proposals to build large-scale wind and solar farms to help decarbonise its emissions-intensive Queensland aluminium assets. As big emitters around the world face pressure to respond to global warming, Rio said it was seeking clean energy to power its Boyne smelter, Yarwun alumina refinery and Queensland Alumina refinery in the Gladstone area.

Forrest signs up monster German EVs to start ditching diesel in the Pilbara (Sydney Morning Herald): Fortescue will replace almost half the haul trucks at its Pilbara iron ore mines with battery and hydrogen-powered units from German firm Liebherr which will use technology from a UK firm the miner bought in January. The 120 vehicles will replace 45 per cent of Fortescue’s haul trucks and slash its consumption of 200 million litres of diesel a year. The old fleet produces a quarter of its carbon emissions.

AGL taps industry partners for green hydrogen hub at Torrens Island (Renew Economy): AGL Energy has announced plans to create a consortium of industry partners that could help transform its Torrens?Island gas hub in South Australia into a new green hydrogen hub. AGL says it will lead the commissioning of a feasibility study – alongside several potential industrial and energy sector partners – that will explore the commercial and technical prospects of developing green hydrogen production facilities at its current Torrens Island site. The feasibility study will bring together potential industry partners – with work being led by engineering consultancy GHD – including renewables developer Spark Renewables, port operators Flinders Ports, industrial energy users Brickworks and Adbri and energy giants Index, Osaka Gas and SK ecoplant.

Infinite Green lays out wind, solar and battery plans for renewable hydrogen project (Renew Economy): Renewable hydrogen hopeful Infinite Green Energy has laid out its plans to build up to 235MW of wind and solar capacity to produce up to 43 tonnes of green hydrogen at its Arrowsmith project in Western Australia. Infinite Green, which used to be known as Infinite Blue Energy before it realised the importance of colour coding in the nascent hydrogen industry, has filed its planning document for the project with the WA Environmental Protection Authority.

Gippsland set to be named as Australia’s first offshore wind zone (Renew Economy): Australia could soon see the development of its first-ever offshore wind projects, with the Albanese government preparing to declare Victoria’s Gippsland region as the first special zone for offshore projects. After a prolonged process, the Morrison government lifted a legislative prohibition on the development of offshore wind projects, paving the way for the development of Australia’s first offshore projects.

OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST

WA forges ahead with renewables transition as other states face energy crisis (ABC News): It's been a big week in the world of power — although for different reasons depending on which side of Australia you're on. As much of the country struggles to keep the lights on, WA has taken a significant step in its renewables transition, announcing the end of state-run, coal-fired power plants by 2030. It's expected to have a big impact on household bills in the future, but why is it happening now, and what does it all mean?

Why including coal in a new ‘capacity mechanism’ will make Australia’s energy crisis worse (The Conversation): Australia’s electricity generators would be paid extra money to be available even if they don’t actually generate any energy, under a new mechanism proposed by the federal government’s Energy Security Board (ESB). Controversially, the ESB has recommended all generators be eligible for the payment, including ageing coal-fired generators that are increasingly breaking down. The proposal comes after federal and state ministers last week requested the ESB advance its work on a “capacity mechanism … to bring on renewables and storage”. The ESB says a mix of generators is crucial for the mechanism to be effective, guaranteeing energy supply to the grid.

Gas might be expensive, but biogas comes with its own hidden cost in methane emissions (ABC News): Compared to fossil fuels including natural gas, biogas — which is made from waste — is a cleaner, greener alternative.The International Energy Agency estimates that biogas (and biomethane) could meet up to 20 per cent of the world's gas requirements during the transition away from fossil fuels, and help us get closer to net zero. But a new study, published in the journal One Earth, claims emissions from biogas could be higher than we've been estimating, and there is significant work to be done to get its emissions down.?