25 October 2024

CLIMATE POLITICS

Anthony Albanese and Sir Keir Starmer meet for the first time and agree to climate partnership (The Nightly): Anthony Albanese and new British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer have struck a climate deal during their first meeting since the UK Labor party leader swept to power. On the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa, the two leaders agreed to a climate change partnership. They announced an Australia–UK Climate and Energy Partnership to speed up renewable technologies, including green hydrogen and offshore wind.

The climate king: Charles warns lives are already at risk (WA Today): King Charles III has urged Commonwealth leaders from 50 nations to act on the “existential” threat of climate change in his second major speech this week to call for a cut to greenhouse gas emissions, but sidestepped calls to apologise for Britain’s role in slavery. The King used his most important address to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa on Friday to warn of the threat to lives and economies from the impact of climate change, going further than remarks he made in Canberra on Monday.

'We have a leadership role on climate change' (The Australian): Anthony Albanese says Australia is playing a 'leadership role' in preparing the Pacific for climate change as he arrived in Samoa for a meeting of Commonwealth leaders.

Reveal of 2035 climate target could be delayed by months, beyond the next election (ABC News): Energy Minister Chris Bowen has indicated the announcement of Australia's 2035 climate target could be delayed beyond February next year, and potentially beyond the next election. Mr Bowen had previously committed to revealing the 2035 target by February, arguing Australia was obliged to do so.

Labor supersizes renewables auction to get climate targets on track (Australian Financial Review): Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen will accelerate the government’s program of underwriting renewable energy to meet overwhelming demand for the subsidies from project developers and in a renewed bid to get emissions reduction targets back on track. In his speech to open The Australian Financial Review Energy and Climate Summit on Monday, Mr Bowen says the next auction in the capacity investment scheme will be increased in size by two-thirds to 10 gigawatts.

Australia’s biggest battery storage tender poised for take-off as authorities wrestle with hybrid issue (Renew Economy): Key design changes have been released ahead of what is expected to be Australia’s biggest ever storage tender when it is launched as part of the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme next month. The newly expanded storage component will seek 4 gigawatts (GW) and 16 gigawatt hours (GWh) of storage capacity – mostly likely battery storage – as it seeks to fast track projects needed to help meet the 2030 target of 82 per cent renewables.

‘Potential issues’ with Coalition’s planned nuclear reactor sites, safety expert warns (The Guardian): A senior government nuclear safety official says the sites of coal-fired power plants “might not be adequate” to house the opposition’s proposed taxpayer-funded nuclear reactors. Government agencies and departmental officials were grilled in parliament on Wednesday at a government-backed inquiry into nuclear energy. The inquiry was tasked with scrutinising the Coalition’s controversial plan to lift Australia’s ban on nuclear power and build taxpayer-funded reactors at seven sites.

Nuclear too slow to replace coal by 2035 (Australian Financial Review): Energy executives say the development of nuclear power in Australia will be too slow to replace ageing coal-fired power plants in the next decade, as Climate Change Authority chairman Matt Kean accuses “delay-mongers” of latching onto the idea for a publicity stunt. But beyond the urgent phase of the energy transition to renewables and gas-fired power, some executives and the energy market operator said nuclear should be left on the table as a potential energy source for Australia in the long term to keep up with rising power demand from consumers and businesses.

Batteries, solar and maximising the grid pushed to save 2030 target (Australian Financial Review): The Albanese government must introduce new measures to boost the uptake of renewables in the existing power grid at least cost for consumers, say energy industry players who warn that without a renewed push Australia risks missing its 2030 targets. The warning was led by Climate Change Authority chairman Matt Kean, who said that the Albanese government would need new policy ideas to meet an end-decade goal for 82 per cent renewable energy, despite the expansion of the Capacity Investment Scheme to underwrite clean energy projects.

CARBON MARKETS

What's Wrong With Australia's Carbon Credit Markets? (Mirage News): New findings from the Transforming Energy Markets Research Centre have identified changing government regulations as one of the reasons behind the very low and highly volatile prices of carbon credit units in Australia. Economic mechanisms designed to reduce carbon emissions and limit the effects of climate change take many forms. In Australia, one of these is Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), which can be purchased by companies – and traded on the Australian carbon credit market - to offset their emissions.

GREEN PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES

Pacific Energy strikes gold with 35 MW solar farm deal for Western Australia mine site (PV Magazine): Western Australia-headquartered clean energy developer Pacific Energy has signed a deal to deliver its biggest solar farm yet for South African miner Gold Fields’ St Ives mine, 80 kilometres south of Kalgoorlie. Pacific Energy will build a 60,000 solar panel, 35 MW solar farm for the St Ives gold mine, which is part of Gold Fields’ $296 million (USD 198 million) St Ives Renewables Project.

SunCable secures another green light in quest to transport 1.75 GW via subsea electric cables (PV Magazine): SunCable’s ambitious AustraliaAsia PowerLink, or AAPowerLink, project has cleared yet another regulatory hurdle, being granted ‘conditional approval’ by the Singaporean Government’s Energy Market Authority to import green electricity. The specific conditions of approval have not been included in the announcement. The AAPowerLink project is aiming to deliver 1.75 GW of green electricity to customers in Singapore via 4,300 kilometres of subsea cabling that will travel through Indonesian waters.

Kwinana $580m biofuel plant approved (Business News): BP Australia’s plan to convert its former Kwinana oil refinery into a $580 million biofuel plant has cleared another hurdle, following approval from planning authorities today. The proposal, which spans 9.79 hectares at Mason Road in Kwinana Beach, was heard at a Metro Outer development assessment panel meeting.

Woodside inks hydrogen offtake deal (Business News): Woodside has inked an early-stage deal to supply liquid hydrogen from its proposed facilities, including H2Perth, to a Singaporean company to power its data centres. The oil and gas major said the conditional offtake term sheet with Keppel paved the way for a binding offtake deal for the supply of liquid hydrogen from as early as 2030.

Fortescue pulls $3bn Canadian hydrogen plan (Business News): Fortescue says it remains committed to hydrogen, after formally withdrawing a proposed $3 billion project from Canada’s environmental approvals process. A recently published submission by Fortescue to the British Columbia Environment Assessment Office, dated September 26, requested the Coyote project be withdrawn from assessment.

Partnership boosting grid decarbonisation (Energy Magazine): Ausgrid has partnered with Schneider Electric to introduce SF6-free switchgear to Ausgrid’s distribution network, in a move to decarbonise its grid operations. Ausgrid said that as part of its comprehensive sustainability strategy, the collaboration marks a significant step on the path toward achieving its environmental goals.

Goulburn solar hybrid to include side hustle as testing site for semi solid state battery (Renew Economy): A new solar farm and battery hybrid project proposed for New South Wales’ (NSW) Southern Tablelands will also become a test site for new energy technologies, including a semi solid state battery under a deal with landowner, the University of Sydney. As well as the now common solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) hybrid infrastructure, developer Spark Renewables says it will also build a test-bed facility with a 100 kVw simulated “dummy load” at the proposed Wattle Creek energy hub.

"Full-circle moment:" Engie starts work on first Victorian solar farm since Hazelwood closure (Renew Economy): The first sod has been turned on the 250 MW Goorambat East solar farm near Benalla in northern Victoria, while another 99MW PV project has been completed in nearby Shepparton – a winner of the state Labor government’s reverse auction program back in 2018. Victorian energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio marked both occasions on Thursday, including a ceremony near Goorambat to mark construction of the first large-scale renewables project in the state for French giant, Engie, since the 2017 closure of its Hazelwood coal plant.

OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST

Have WA's new environmental protection laws left the state's EPA a toothless tiger? (ABC News): Some of Australia's biggest carbon polluters have a couple of reasons to celebrate this week. WA's Labor government passed environmental protection laws that were described by one of its own MPs as an industry "wish list". The government also made a big change to its greenhouse gas policy that will have implications for fossil fuel projects.

Energy transition boosts local, state and national economies (Australian Financial Review): The renewable energy sector has reached a tipping point, as Australia’s largest wind farm comes online, contributing millions of dollars to the economy and supporting skills development. It also shows how clean energy assets can work alongside local agriculture to create benefits for everyone. The $2 billion MacIntyre wind farm, which is now generating clean, renewable energy, is one of the first projects in Queensland’s renewable energy zone.

Huge cost cuts needed in solar for hydrogen to work: ARENA (Australian Financial Review): The costs of solar power generation in Australia needs to fall by about two-thirds for green hydrogen to stack up economically, the head of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency says. ARENA chief executive Darren Miller said green hydrogen economically “does not work today at all, in any circumstances” because the cost structures were still too expensive.

Long-term vision needed to kickstart local offshore wind sector (Australian Financial Review): As Australia contemplates the future of its offshore wind energy sector, many countries are already reaping the benefits of this renewable resource. With reduced community impact, low CO2 emissions and scalability, offshore wind presents a promising opportunity. However, high costs and complex project development processes are challenges.

Tesla says one million EVs would barely make dent on Australian grid, and mostly soak up excess solar (Renew Economy): The director of Tesla Motors in Australia and the head of its local energy team that focuses on battery storage says the rapid growth of EVs in Australia will have limited impact on the electricity grid. Josef Tadich, the regional director of Tesla Energy in the Asia Pacific, says there are current around 100,000 Tesla EVs in the country – it is the best selling electric brand by far in the Australian market with well over 50 per cent of sales to date – that together consume around 150 to 200 gigawatt hours of electricity a year.

From zero to 100 pct renewables in just 20 years: South Australia's remarkable energy transition (Renew Economy): The man at the head of the transmission network that provides the backbone to the South Australian grid has provided some insight into the remarkable and speedy green energy transition of the state’s grid, which is regarded as a world leader in the integration of wind and solar technologies. Simon Emms , the CEO of Electranet, says the state will have effectively transformed from near zero renewables in 2007 to 100 net renewables by 2027, when – as seems likely – the state meets its newly accelerated target.

Exporting gas can more than double the emissions compared to using it in Australia. So why are we doing it (Renew Economy): There is a new article from Cornell University that suggests that the emissions associated with the export and use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from shale gas in the United States are higher than burning coal. Although this will be no great surprise to those who take an interest in this issue, there are two aspects of the research that are important contributions to the debate in Australia. The first of these is the application of a 20-year Global Warming Potential (GWP) for methane, rather than the normally used 100 year value. The concept of the GWP to compare the emissions impact of different greenhouse gases (GHGs) goes back to decisions by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the nineties.

Wind turbine nacelle gets second life as tiny house (Renew Economy): In a collaboration which could really only have blossomed in north-western Europe, a Dutch design studio has converted a Vattenfall wind turbine nacelle into a tiny house. Designed as part of collaboration orchestrated by Dutch design service company What if Lab, which connected four design studios with Vattenfall to create unique solutions for wind turbines reaching the end of their technical lifespan, the tiny house, if nothing else, perfectly encapsulates Nordic minimalist design.

Tasmania's renewable energy boast looking shaky with fossil fuels, electricity imports in the mix because of dry conditions (ABC News): Tasmania is headed for a 15-year low in its renewable energy generation — posing a threat to the state's claim of being "100 per cent renewable". The driest year since 1934 in Hydro Tasmania's catchments has forced the generator to scale back generation, with the aim of conserving water.