4 October 2024

CLIMATE POLITICS

WA Labor government accused of shelving climate laws as emissions continue to rise (The Guardian): The Western Australian Labor government has been accused of shelving plans to introduce climate change laws before a state election next March after it left the bill off a list of legislation it hopes to pass. The absence of the climate bill – from the list of 14 legislative priorities circulated with the Liberal party and crossbench MPs – reignited claims that WA Labor is in thrall to the gas industry and failing to address the climate crisis.

Australia favourite to host COP31 climate talks (Australian Financial Review): Australia is close to edging out Turkey in the race to host the 2026 United Nations climate talks, a win that is expected to increase scrutiny on Labor’s emission reduction targets. With a decision due as soon as November, observers believe Turkey’s rival bid is not credible and support from a growing coalition of international partners will win the event for Australia and a group of Pacific co-hosts.

Australia can ride the waves of China’s “green capital tsunami” – but a change in attitude is needed (Renew Economy): A new report from Sydney based think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF) has raised concerns that Australia’s investment policy towards China disincentivises a potential relationship that could deliver a “green capital tsunami” for Australia at a crucial point in its transition to renewables. The new report from CEF found that Chinese firms have committed over $US100 billion ($A145 billion) in outbound foreign decarbonisation investment across at least 130 major clean technology transactions since 2023.

Australia's 'immoral' coalmine decision akin to drowning Pacific neighbours, Tuvalu climate minister declares (The Guardian): Tuvalu’s climate minister says Australia’s decision to approve three coalmine expansions calls into question the country’s claim to be a “member of the Pacific family” and undermines the Australian case to co-host the 2026 UN climate summit with island nations. Dr Maina Talia said last week’s mine approvals, which analysts say could generate more than 1.3bn tonnes of carbon dioxide across their lifetime once the coal is shipped and burned overseas, was “a direct threat to our collective future”.

"Differences of opinion:" Queensland state LNP insists it will not sign up to Dutton's nuclear plan (Renew Economy): They might be friends but Peter Dutton and his Queensland state counterpart David Crisafulli are a long way off agreeing on nuclear power. Mr Dutton has promised to build seven nuclear plants across Australia if the coalition wins next year’s federal election. Two of those proposed plants are in Queensland at existing power plants in Tarong and Callide.

End of an era as Britain’s last coal-fired power plant shuts down (The Guardian): Britain’s only remaining coal power plant at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire will generate electricity for the last time on Monday after powering the UK for 57 years. The power plant will come to the end of its life in line with the government’s world-leading policy to phase out coal power which was first signalled almost a decade ago.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

UniSuper faces uprising from scientists over its support of gas (Australian Financial Review): Leading scientists, including Peter Singer, Lesley Hughes and David Karoly, are demanding UniSuper use its 9 per cent holding in APA Group to push the company to stop plans to develop gas pipelines in the Beetaloo Basin. More than 1000 members of the $140 billion industry super fund have signed a letter to its board demanding it leverage its influence over APA, saying it would fail to meet its own climate action promises.

Private equity firms ploughing billions into fossil fuels, analysis reveals (The Guardian): Private equity firms are using US public sector workers’ retirement savings to fund fossil fuel projects pumping more than a billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere every year, according to an analysis. They have ploughed more than $1tn (￡750bn) into the energy sector since 2010, often buying into old and new fossil fuel projects and, thanks to exemptions from many financial disclosures, operating them outside the public eye, the researchers say.

GREEN PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES

Origin Energy pulls the plug on Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub, says too expensive (The West Australian): Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s hopes of kick-starting a hydrogen energy revolution to help fuel Australia’s shift to net zero have suffered another setback after Origin Energy revealed it had pulled the plug on a project in NSW. Origin said developing the Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub using existing technology and amid uncertainty surrounding the future potential market for the renewable energy would be too expensive.

Frontier’s $23m placement collapses (Business News): A Frontier Energy placement to raise more than $23 million has been scrapped after the solar energy aspirant’s share price plummeted earlier this week, while uncertainty hangs over incoming chair Mark McGowan's start date. The $23.2 million raise was to be the second tranche of a $40 million placement of Frontier shares at 25c each, but was subject to shareholder approval and will not go ahead.

Exmouth renewable energy deal, solar farm (Business News): Exmouth could be 80 per cent powered by renewable energy by 2026, after Horizon Power tapped Pacific Energy to build a solar farm and two batteries under a power purchase deal. State government-agency Horizon Power signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Perth-based Pacific Energy for a mix of solar, battery storage and gas-fired power generation.

Fast track approval process gives Mortlake Energy Hub green light to start build (PV Magazine): United States-headquartered renewables developer BrightNight’s $700 million (USD 480.9 million) Mortlake Energy Hub, located 216 kilometres west of Melbourne has received the Victorian government’s green light to proceed with construction via a development facilitation program (DFP) pathway. Incorporating a 1,060 hectare, 360 MW solar array using approximately 795,762 solar modules, the Hub’s approval process began in May 2024, two months after the DFP was extended in March 2024.

Coal generator switches off to make room for solar in significant boost to renewable switch (Renew Economy): Australia’s biggest coal generator AGL Energy has reported success with a ground breaking initiative that will allow it to shut down coal units in the middle of the day, effectively making way for rooftop and large scale solar to dominate the grid. The first trials have been held at AGL’s Bayswater generator, next to the already shuttered Liddell facility in the Hunter Valley, and involves a process called “two-shifting” – meaning it takes a unit offline and brings it back online within a 12 hour period.

Perth company successfully switches on solid state battery using table salt (Renew Economy): A Perth company is planning its next steps after successfully switching on a 60 kilowatt (kW) sodium-chloride solid-state battery prototype in a trial in Germany. Perth-based Altech Batteries installed the battery at its joint venture partner Fraunhofer IKTS’ test laboratory in Dresden. The battery, named the Cerenergy ABS60, is being monitored to see how it runs under real world conditions.

Battery hybrids favoured as wind and solar shortlisted projects make final bids in biggest ever tender (Renew Economy): The final bids for the biggest ever wind and solar tender to be held in Australia were submitted late last week, and it appears that those projects that were adding battery storage to their proposals have the inside running. And the bigger the battery, the better. The first tender for generation projects under the Capacity Investment Scheme is seeking 6 gigawatts (GW) of new wind and solar capacity, and is the first of a series of auctions that will seek to underwrite at least 23 GW by 2030 – plus 9 GW of storage – to help meet the 82 per cent renewable target.

Australian-first hydrogen hub launched (Energy Magazine): A hydrogen facility that will enable research, demonstration, testing and training has officially opened at Deakin University’s Warrnambool campus. The Hycel Technology Hub is the first of its kind, strategically located along an interstate transport corridor that connects industries, communities and resources, and is situated within a Victorian Renewable Energy Zone.

Macquarie's Aula jumps on board plans to build massive wind farm in New South Wales (Renew Economy): Aula Energy, the newly launched offshoot of finance giant Macquarie, has jumped on board the plans of renewables developer RES to build a more than 600 megawatt (MW) wind farm in south-western New South Wales. The 612MW Argoon Wind Farm is being proposed for construction around 20km north of Jerilderie and 30km southwest of Coleambally, within the NSW South-West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ). Initial feasibility assessments for the project were completed by RES in 2022.

Partnership to boost SAF industry (Energy Magazine): The Federal and Queensland governments have joined forces to fund a Townsville production facility that will convert ethanol – made from agricultural waste – into jet fuel to support the development of a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry in Australia. The new facility, with a total value of $36.8 million, is expected to be capable of producing approximately 110 million litres of low carbon liquid fuels such as SAF and renewable diesel each year.

Woodside Energy’s $3.6 billion Texan ammonia deal a clean finish (The West Australian): Woodside Energy’s $US2.4 billion ($3.6 billion) deal to buy a lower-carbon ammonia plant in Texas has reached the finish line. The Perth-based oil and gas giant bought the project from Dutch fertiliser manufacturer OCI Global, in a transaction announced in early August.

Stanwell acquires Tarong West Wind Farm (Energy Magazine): Queensland Government-owned energy generator Stanwell has signed a deal with global renewable energy developer RES to acquire the Tarong West Wind Farm in South Burnett. The project, which recently received development approval, will feature 97 wind turbines and produce enough clean energy to power the equivalent of 230,000 homes.

OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST

Gas power in future grid will be "tiny" and its cost exorbitant, report finds (Renew Economy): When the Australian Energy Market Operator forecast an increase in gas generation capacity – from around 11 GW to 15 GW – in the June update to its 25-year planning blueprint for the national grid, it was greeted as manna from heaven by fossil fuel boosters. Australian Energy Producers quickly released a statement claiming AEMO’s 2024 Integrated System Plan “reaffirmed the critical role of gas” in energy security and the “urgent need” to invest in new gas supply and infrastructure to enable the transition to net zero by 2050.

Australian researches turn wine into a battery storage breakthrough (Renew Economy): Leftover wine and overripe citrus fruit could be used to create powerful batteries after Australian chemists uncovered a fresh use for food acids.?Researchers from the University of NSW announced they had been granted a patent for the technology that they say could be used to power everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to household solar storage in future.?But the academics will first have to scale up the technology from the size of a coin to a much larger product.?

Burning rubbish to create energy could end landfills. But some worry where Australia’s new path is leading (The Guardian): Australia’s first major waste-to-energy power plant has begun accepting rubbish, marking the start of a contentious nationwide shift towards burning household refuse to generate electricity. At least 10 developments are under way across the country, sparking concern from some conservationists who argue the trend will be environmentally damaging and at odds with plans to develop a circular economy.

Concerns over renewable energy clean-up bill turns some off wind turbines in rural communities (ABC News): Fiona and Rob Duff could have earned millions hosting wind turbines on their rural property, but the Queensland farmers say they decided against the extra income. For them, rejecting the potential cash flow was not an ideological decision about climate change or energy.

US climate change targets threatened by tech energy surge from AI (Australian Financial Review): Power-hungry artificial intelligence is consuming increasingly vast amounts of energy from the creaking US grid and threatening national efforts to tackle climate change, according to the latest expert forecasts. Unprecedented energy demand, fuelled in part by expanding data centres for AI, combined with the slower-than-expected pace of renewable development and longer operating timelines for polluting coal plants, have prompted analysts to recast their models for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.