14 June 2024
CLIMATE POLITICS
Australia’s power and gas companies want Coalition to retain Labor’s 2030 climate target (The Guardian): The owners of Australian coal and gas-fired power plants have joined the country’s leading business groups in saying the Coalition should keep Labor’s 2030 climate target if it wins the next election. The Australian Energy Council, which represents electricity companies and gas wholesalers and retailers, the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group said maintaining an interim target – legislated as a 43% cut compared with 2005 levels – was an important step in getting to net zero emissions by mid-century.
Environmental groups apply to take Tanya Plibersek to high court over coalmine approvals (The Guardian): Conservationists will ask the high court to examine whether the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, should have assessed the climate damage that would be caused by two large coalmine developments. The Environment Council of Central Queensland has sought special leave in Australia’s highest court to appeal against the federal court’s dismissal of what is known as the Living Wonders case.
Dutton won’t unveil 2030 climate target until after election (The Sydney Morning Herald): Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will not commit to a climate change target for 2030, signalling the next federal election will again be a battle between the major parties over global warming. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Dutton of an “extraordinary abandonment” of climate change action after the Liberal leader said on Tuesday the Coalition would not announce its revised emissions targets for 2030 until after the next federal election.
Inquiry into WA’s domestic gas policy pushed back to mid-August (The West Australian): A hotly-anticipated parliamentary inquiry report into the domestic gas market has been delayed until after the winter break. The Economics and Industry Standing Committee’s review was scheduled to be released on Thursday morning but that was pushed back by nine weeks late on Wednesday afternoon. Businesses and lobby groups which submitted to the inquiry have now been told the report will be released on 15th August.
Does nuclear power have a future in Australia? These numbers will help cut through the debate (ABC News): As the shift away from fossil fuels gathers pace, the Coalition has turned to an emissions-free technology that has a long and contentious history — nuclear fission. To help make sense of what role, if any, nuclear power could play we turned to Alan Finkel, Australia’s former chief scientist, and economist John Quiggin.
Dutton worse than Morrison on climate change, says PM (Financial Review): The climate wars may be back – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has gone on the offensive after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he would drop the 2030 target on emissions if elected. The Coalition still wants to reach net zero by 2050 but Dutton plans to ditch the interim 2030 target to cut emissions by 43 per cent.
Just two years ago, Peter Dutton was committed to a 2030 emissions target. So what's changed? (ABC News): Two years ago, few would have thought Peter Dutton would go to the next election without a 2030 climate target. Back then, the Coalition was still nursing the bruises of an 18-seat election wipe-out. Six Liberal "heartland" seats were lost to "teal" independents. Two more went to the Greens.
The Coalition wants to dump our 2030 emissions target, yet somehow hit 2050’s. Behavioural economics has a name for that (ABC News): If you are anything like me, the nearer you get to a deadline, the more desperately you want to postpone it, no matter how much harder that makes things down the track. It’s what the Coalition wants Australia to do about its 2030 emissions reduction target — the one signed into law in 2022 and registered with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
CARBON MARKETS
Australian govt publishes draft environmental plantings ACCU method (Carbon Pulse): The Australian government on Thursday released a draft methodology for environmental plantings (EP) for consultation, outlining proposed changes to the existing method, which is set to expire in September.
Australia’s AgriProve issued 9,000 ACCUs from soil carbon projects (Carbon Pulse): Soil carbon developer AgriProve has been issued over 9,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), generated at two of its projects in Queensland.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Boards plead with Labor not to rush broader sustainability rules (Financial Review): Company directors are warning the federal government not to rush new rules which will require companies to report on their water use, supply chains and human rights, despite warnings by former superannuation fund chief David Atkin that Australia is “cherry-picking” new global sustainability reporting standards. Labor’s mandatory climate reporting regime passed in the lower house of parliament on Thursday and is due to be phased in over four years from January, after businesses received a six-month reprieve from Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Companies with a turnover of at least $500 million will be forced to report against the new standards first.
Is corporate Australia on the cusp of an EV tipping point? (Financial Review): Australia is close to reaching a tipping point when it comes to corporate fleet electrification, experts say, but the country still faces a major roadblock to unlocking widespread take-up: a lack of charging stations. While electric vehicles made up less than 1 per cent of total passenger vehicles last year, sales are lifting in Australia with exponential pace as more affordable models hit the market and the need to decarbonise intensifies.
GREEN PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES
Kalbarri heads to a hydrogen future (Business News): A pastoral station just north of Kalbarri could be home to Australia’s first giga-scale hydrogen development after its backers introduced major changes. This month’s federal budget included big financial incentives for developers of hydrogen projects in Australia. One name at the head of the queue is global investment giant Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), which is developing more than a dozen hydrogen projects across the globe. Among these is Murchison Green Energy, which has a 120,000-hectare project site just north of the holiday town of Kalbarri.
RWE’s gigawatt scale wind project in Queensland awaits EPBC decision (Renew Economy): Public consultation for the massive 1.1 gigawatt (GW) Theodore wind farm in Queensland is open, ahead of a decision by the federal environment minister on whether it will be a controlled activity. The wind farm is one that global renewables giant RWE partnered with Stanwell Corporation on late last year, with the Queensland government-owned energy company signing up to a possible off-take agreement and equity stake to bolster its aim to build a 10GW renewable portfolio.
Lithium miner switches on Australia’s biggest off-grid hybrid renewables system (Renew Economy): Australia’s largest off-grid renewable energy generator is now operational, as lithium miner Liontown Resources flicks the switch on its 95 megawatt (MW) Kathleen Valley remote micro-grid. The project combines a 16MW solar farm, a 17MW/19 MWh battery and ultimately 30 MW of wind capacity. The first three of the five 6MW Goldwind wind turbines have been commissioned – the other two are built and awaiting commissioning. Liontown says the project is already powering the on-site accommodation and process plant, and will eventually also power the underground lithium mine, and it expects to beat its initial target of meeting 60 per cent of its supply needs for renewables.
Construction begins on new big battery next to one of Australia’s oldest wind farms (Renew Economy): Pacific Blue, formerly known as Pacific Hydro, says it is building a 60 MW, 130 MWh grid scale battery at Clements Gap, near Port Pirie in South Australia, next to the 57 MW Clements Gap wind farm that was built in 2010. The new battery is one of a number of new battery storage projects being built in South Australia as the state makes the next leap from around 75 per cent renewables (wind and solar) to its newly fast tracked target of 100 per cent net renewables by 2030.
Frontier expands solar and battery project as tender underlines falling cost for modules and storage (Renew Economy): Western Australian renewables developer Frontier Energy says its planned Warren Renewable Energy project south of Perth is benefiting from falling prices for both battery storage and solar modules, and it has decided to expand the battery component because of it. The original definitive feasibility study (DFS) proposed a 120MW solar project for stage one of the Waroona Renewable Energy Project with a four-hour 80MW battery.
Australian, Japanese companies team up on biochar, soil health (Carbon Pulse): An Australian biochar and carbon dioxide removal project developer has formed a partnership with a Japanese agri-tech firm to focus on scaling the global biochar market, they announced Wednesday.
AGL buys into home solar, battery and EV management platform (Renew Economy): AGL Energy has announced it will take a $A150 million, 20 per cent stake in global energy software business Kaluza, as part of efforts to ensure the Big Three gentailer has the flexibility it needs to adjust to the rapidly changing needs of customers who invest in solar, battery storage and electric vehicles. The multi-year licensing agreement and investment deal, which values Kaluza at around $US500 million, will see AGL transfer its 4 million consumer electricity and gas customer services onto the digitised billing and smart energy management platform over the next three years.
OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST
Farmers who graze sheep under solar panels say it improves productivity. So why don’t we do it more? (The Guardian): Allowing livestock to graze under renewable developments gives farmers a separate income stream, but solar developers have been slow to catch on. As a flock of about 2,000 sheep graze between rows of solar panels, grazier Tony Inder wonders what all the fuss is about. “I’m not going to suggest it’s everyone’s cup of tea,” he says. “But as far as sheep grazing goes, solar is really good.” Inder is talking about concerns over the encroachment of prime agricultural land by ever-expanding solar and windfarms, a well-trodden talking point for the loudest opponents to Australia’s energy transition.
Plunging solar module prices drive massive boom in off-grid renewable projects (Renew Economy): The off-grid renewable energy market is booming, particularly for large mining operations, as customers look to switch out of expensive fossil fuels and tap into the falling costs of solar modules. David Griffin, the CEO of Australian solar innovator 5B, a specialist in building prefabricated solar modules, says companies looking for off-grid solutions have ramped up their ambitions over the last 18 months and the company is in talks over projects “totalling several gigawatts”.
Virtual Transmission: We need more battery storage to lift capacity of existing grid (Renew Economy): New transmission is an essential ingredient for a successful energy transition. It helps to access regions with high quality renewable resource (especially wind, which is more location sensitive than solar) and it helps to balance generation between different regions (which increases utilisation and reliability of supply). However, it also requires substantial investment, takes a long time to deliver and has impacts on regional communities, in addition to its many benefits.
Food has a climate problem: Nitrous oxide emissions are accelerating with growing demand for fertilizer and meat – but there are solutions (The Conversation): Food’s role in climate change has emerged as one of the defining challenges of our time. The journey of a steak, fruit or salad from the vast expanses of agricultural lands to the plates on our tables leaves a significant footprint on the environment. At the heart of this challenge is the prodigious use of fertilizers and a growing global population’s increasing demand for meat.
Growth in emissions of 'forgotten greenhouse gas' nitrous oxide is speeding up: study (ABC News): Emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) by humans has increased 40 per cent in the past 40 years, according to a new report. The second-ever global nitrous oxide budget also found the rate of annual growth in emissions of N2O is increasing, with agriculture being a major source. Known as the ''forgotten greenhouse gas", N2O has 300 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Electric vehicles alone won’t be enough to hit climate goals, research shows (The Sydney Morning Herald): An electric vehicle revolution is unlikely to be enough to cut Australia’s emissions in line with its climate change goals, according to new research that suggests more public transport travel and rail freight are needed to rein in pollution. Transport produces one-fifth of Australia’s carbon emissions, and the government projects it will grow over the next decade to become the country’s highest emitting sector.
Utility giant says paying to extend life of “fragile” coal plants has a limit, but digs in on gas (Renew Economy): EnergyAustralia managing director Mark Collette has signalled that the big three gentailer will not be seeking any further Eraring-type deals to prop up its own aging coal plants, but will be banking on fossil gas-fired generation as a key player in the shift to renewables. Speaking at Australian Energy Week in Melbourne on Wednesday, Collette said insufficient investment in large-scale wind, solar, storage and transmission, combined with a rapidly aging installed system, had created a market “primed for unpredictability.”
Tests show 30 year-old solar panels still operating at 79.5 per cent of original capacity (Renew Economy): A rooftop solar system installed more than 30 years ago in France – reported to be the country’s oldest installed system – is still operating at just under 80 per cent of its original output, a new report has found. The 1kW system, first inaugurated June 1992 in Ain in eastern France, was tested by Hespul, an agency formed in 1991 to support the development of renewable energy technologies in France – and which commissioned the 1992 solar array.