Weekly Decarbonisation and Climate Update (12 July)
Climate Politics
Australia fast-tracks four big wind, solar and storage tenders in coming months to meet 2030 target (Renew Economy): The Australian federal government says it plans to launch four new big tenders for wind, solar and storage in coming months as it works to ensure that enough capacity is delivered into the country’s main grids to meet its 2030 renewable energy target. The four new tenders were revealed late Wednesday in a briefing note sent to the industry by the federal department of climate change, energy, efficiency and water. It confirms energy minister Chris Bowen’s advice last month that the CIS tenders will be reconfigured to deliver a result within six months, rather than nine months previously, to ensure that projects are delivered on time.
Consultation open for aggregated resources in Capacity Investment Scheme (PV Magazine): The Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) supports investment in renewable energy, like wind and solar, and clean energy storage, such as batteries. By reducing financial risks, the scheme helps more renewable projects get built. It supports Australia’s goal of 82% renewable electricity by 2030 and the delivery of an additional 32 GW of capacity by 2030. Aggregated resources (ARs) are smaller energy projects and technologies that, when combined, can act as one participant in the energy market.
Australia loses top climate diplomat as COP bid on edge (The Australian Financial Review): Australia’s Foreign Affairs Department is operating without its top climate envoy as pressure builds on the Albanese government to ramp up its diplomatic push to secure hosting rights for a major UN summit in Adelaide in 2026. Climate change ambassador Kristin Tilley left her post on June 27, but the government has yet to find a replacement. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is recruiting for the role, but has not set a date for the appointment of a new ambassador. It means Australia is bidding alongside Pacific Island nations to host the 31st United Nations Conference of the Parties climate summit without its top climate diplomat. Labor wants to use the conference – which will attract more than 20,000 international visitors – to showcase its Future Made in Australia new green economy agenda.
Government climate targets slipping out of reach (The Australian Financial Review): Delays to critical energy transition projects are beginning to bite into the government’s near-term climate goals, with new data revealing Labor will need to triple the rate of decline in coal power generation to have any chance of meeting its 2030 emissions reduction target. New analysis of 2024-25 figures reveals renewable power generation in Australia’s energy mix grew at only half the rate required to meet Labor’s end-of-decade target, which is the key plank of its plan to cut carbon emissions by 43 per cent on 2005 levels. Labor hopes to produce 82 per cent of Australia’s electricity with renewables by 2030, but its rollout has been beset by delays to critical poles-and-wires infrastructure required to connect new wind and solar farms to the grid, with key projects in Victoria, NSW and Queensland all running well behind schedule.
Labor weighs critical aid package for Vic offshore wind (The Australian Financial Review): The Albanese government is considering a multibillion-dollar funding package to help the cash-strapped Victorian government underwrite the state’s offshore wind plans amid industry fears that a lack of financial support could see key players walk away. The fresh negotiations between the state and federal governments come as widespread delays to critical renewables and poles-and-wire projects threaten to undermine the state’s energy security by slowing down the closure of its ageing coal power plants. The development of an offshore wind industry off the Gippsland coast is central to Victoria’s plan to get the state off coal, with the government targeting two gigawatts of energy generation from the area by 2032 – enough to power 1.5 million homes.
Solar farms forced to ‘switch off’ due to energy grid logjam (The Australian Financial Review): Almost every large solar farm in Australia’s southeastern states will be forced to switch off at least one-third of the power they generate by 2027 as delays to critical energy transition projects cause major bottlenecks on the electricity grid. New analysis by the Australian Energy Market Operator shows that the slow rollout of key poles and wire projects in Victoria will severely limit the amount of power big renewables projects can produce to replace Australia’s soon-to-be-shuttered coal plants.
Japan’s warning over Albanese’s east-coast gas reserve (The Australian Financial Review): West Australian Premier Roger Cook has warned of major trade concerns in Japan about the Albanese government’s move to consider an east coast gas reservation, after a visit where he met with senior government and industry officials. Cook was in Japan this week to spruik WA’s LNG exports and its capacity to offer carbon capture and storage options for Asia. He said Japan was watching Australia’s gas debate closely, particularly the growing antipathy towards exporting the commodity to Asia amid concerns of a domestic shortfall. “I think it’s fair to say that they are very well-educated and extremely familiar with all the debates that are going on in Australia at the moment, particularly around a little bit of antipathy towards LNG,” Cook told The Australian Financial Review on Tuesday.
Cook not concerned by Japan on-selling surplus Australian gas (WA Today): WA Premier Roger Cook has shrugged off criticism of Japan’s on-selling of surplus Australian gas to other Asian customers, saying it is just part of their business model. Cook has just returned from a mission to Japan where the country emphasised the need for a continued stable supply of Australian gas to stabilise its energy grid as it moved away from coal-fired power. Cook met with senior Japanese bureaucrats and politicians, including Vice-Minister for International Affairs Matsuo Takehiko to discuss energy security, resources and decarbonisation.
LNP set for clash on climate approach (The Australian): After the party’s brutal federal election loss, the Queensland LNP will next month debate a grassroot members’ push for the net zero emissions policy to be abandoned and nuclear to be embraced.
Pumped hydro project bankrolls LNP knees-up (The Australian): A renewable energy company has paid the LNP $25,000 to sponsor its post-budget fundraiser, as the state government weighs investing taxpayers’ money in its $2.9bn pumped hydro project.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Step up on energy rollout or lose out: industry’s warning (The Australian Financial Review): Industry says the Albanese government’s productivity roundtable must endorse an energy plan than cuts green and red tape on renewables projects and sets affordable prices as a key policy aim. Australia desperately needs better planning and approvals processes for energy transition projects, faster construction and clearer priorities to avoid losing industrial competitiveness and jobs, Innes Willox, chief executive of Australian Industry Group, warned.
Property firms prepare for mandatory climate reporting (The Australian Financial Review): Australia’s largest property companies are fine-tuning how they measure and disclose their impact on the environment after a mandatory framework on reporting was introduced by the federal government at the start of this year. Last September, changes to the Corporations Act were legislated requiring large businesses and financial institutions to prepare annual sustainability reports containing compulsory climate-related financial disclosures, which came into effect on January 1.
Making hay while the sun shines on old solar (The Australian): A growing number of investors, hacked by the super fund industry, is putting money into businesses which replace outdated solar panels or the panels and turbines for wind farms.
Green Projects and Initiatives
Indigenous leader hails the Pilbara’s third wave of change (The Energy): The Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation now has one solar farm “at the pointy end of the spear”, poised for construction to start, and plans for a follow-up massive new wind and solar project are well advanced, says its chief executive officer Michael Woodley. The organisation headed by Woodley has partnered with renewables company ACEN – a subsidiary of Philippines-headquartered Ayala Group – to develop renewable energy projects on Yindjibarndi Country in the Pilbara. The Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation has a 25% stake in the Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation (YEC), with ACEN having the remaining 75% stake.
Goldwind proposes giant wind and battery project on coast north of Perth, in military air training area (Renew Economy): Goldwind is proposing a new 460 megawatt (MW) wind farm and a bit battery project for the coastline north of Perth, but it’s chosen a tricky spot – right inside a military air training area and on the coast. The Chinese turbine manufacturing giant and project developer is at the earliest stages of the project, which it says will see 58 turbines installed onshore from Breton bay, 116km north of the Western Australia capital. This week it received permission to put up three 130m-high meteorological masts to assess the wind viability of the site, all of which will be inside airspace used by the RAAF Base Pearce.
Federal government keeps faith in SunCable project (PV Magazine): The Australian government has maintained its faith in SunCable’s plans to build one of the world’s largest solar and battery energy storage projects, complete with the world’s largest subsea transmission link, extending the major project status for the Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink) proposal. SunCable is planning to develop a giant solar and battery energy storage complex on a 12,000-hectare site at Powell Creek in the Northern Territory’s Barkly region and transmit the renewable energy via a high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line to the Darwin region and then on to Singapore via a subsea HVDC cable. The AAPowerLink project was originally to include 20 GW of solar and up to 42 GWh of battery energy storage but the initial focus has now shifted to create approximately 6 GW of power “for both domestic and international markets, providing enough energy to power around 4.2 million homes.”
Zen Energy seeks solar-plus-storage site with up to 8-hour BESS approved in 17 days (Energy Storage News): Zen Energy has seen a 200MW solar-plus-storage project in Queensland approved by the Australian government, which could feature a battery energy storage system (BESS) between 4 and 8 hours in duration. The approval comes via the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. Zen Energy launched the application on behalf of its joint venture with Taiwan’s HD Renewable Energy, ZEBRE.
Hookey Creek solar and storage project gets federal tick (Energy Source & Distribution): The federal government has granted environmental approval for ZEBRE’s proposed Hookey Creek Solar Farm in just 17 days. The 100MW Hookey Creek Solar Farm will be located 25km northwest of Gympie in Queensland, and includes a 200MW battery energy storage system with up to eight hours of storage capacity. The solar farm will connect via underground cables to the Queensland SuperGrid with energy traded on the National Electricity Market.
Neoen proposes Australia’s biggest battery next to gigawatt-scale forest wind project (Renew Economy): Renewable energy and storage developer Neoen is proposing to build 3,200 megawatt hours of battery storage next to a 1.2 gigawatt wind farm, in what would be the largest development of its type in Australia. The Bondo wind project is one of four being considered in different pine plantation forests controlled by the state-government owned Forestry Corp, part of a plan to unlock areas of strong wind resources that will presumably affect fewer landowners, and impact less native vegetation. Neoen – which is now owned by global asset management giant Brookfield – has submitted a scoping report that for the first time outlines the scale of the project being considered for the Bondo forest west of Canberra, and adjacent to the Snowy Mountain region.
AGL acquires Yadnarie solar and storage project in SA (Energy Source & Distribution): Australia’s biggest energy generator AGL has acquired the Yadnarie solar and long duration energy storage project from Photon Energy. The Yadnarie project, which will be based on RayGen’s PV Ultra and Thermal Hydro technology, is located near Cleve on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The project provides AGL a development option over two stages with up to 150MW of solar capacity, 90MW of thermal energy capacity and 720MWh (eight hours) of energy storage.
Seven Victorian battery storage projects first to connect to Powercor DERMS (PV Magazine): Seven regional Victoria battery storage projects, all at the commissioning phase, will be the first to connect to Victorian distributor Powercor’s high voltage distributed energy resource management system (HV-DERMS), adding stability to the grid. Powercor’s HV-DERMS allows renewable generators to access existing network capacity and when in concert with BESS, dynamically manage energy flow to optimise grid stability and maximise renewable energy integration. Owned by Adelaide-headquartered Sustainable Energy Infrastructure (SEI) Energy, General Manager Justin Parker told pv magazine that connecting the BESS facilities directly into the distribution network will assist in providing network support and quality of supply as close as possible to the point of use.
EnergyAustralia sells off half share in giant battery designed to help fill gap of ageing coal generator (Renew Economy): EnergyAustralia , one of Australia’s three biggest privately owned utilities, has found a financing partner for “the biggest single investment” the company has ever made, the $700 million, four hour Wooreen battery in the Latrobe Valley. Banpu Energy Australia, the local subsidiary of the Thai energy giant, has bought a 50 per cent share in the 350 MW/1,400 MWh Woreen battery for about $110 million. The deal provides stable revenue via a long-term offtake agreement with EnergyAustralia, and is seen by Banpu as a way to get into what the company sees as a long term energy trend in Australia.
ARENA launches fresh quest for ultra low-cost solar with new $60 million funding round (Renew Economy): The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) has announced a major new push for ultra low-cost solar, with the launch of a $60 million funding round targeting innovation in the production of solar cells and modules and cheaper methods of installation and operation. Arena says the new funding round aims to help the nation’s leading universities, research groups and start-ups make “significant breakthroughs” on getting the installed cost of solar down to 30 cents per watt and the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) below $20 per megawatt hour by 2030. Last October, Arena put the LCOE of large-scale solar at a global average of around $US0.044/kWh, or $A0.064/kWh, which makes it significantly cheaper than most fossil fuels, already. But Arena chief Darren Miller says costs must come down further in the dash to net zero.
Other Matters of Interest
Australia’s data centre capacity forecast to pass 5,000 MW by 2029/30 (PV Magazine): The new report, Data Centre Construction Outlook – Australia, provides detailed forecasts for data centre building activity in Australia, by state and region. The report estimates the value of data centre commencements increased by 52% in the year to June 2025 and a further 10% increase is forecast for 2025/26. “As the uptake of artificial intelligence has continued in Australia, we have seen a wave of announcements from data centre operators regarding new projects and earlier than expected expansions,” said the report’s author and Macromonitor Economist, Blake Willi
One-third jump in West Australian gas pipe fees ‘a warning’ for all (The Australian Financial Review): West Australian homes and businesses are facing a jump in energy prices after a regulator proposed a more than 30 per cent hike to tariffs on the state’s biggest pipeline. The WA Economic Regulation Authority on Monday recommended a 33 per cent increase on tariffs for the Dampier to Bunbury Gas Pipeline, which transports gas 1600 kilometres from WA’s north-west to Perth and the state’s south-west.
Thirsty future: Australia’s green hydrogen targets could require vastly more water than the government hopes (The Conversation): Green hydrogen is touted by some as the future – a way for Australia to slowly replace its reliance on fossil fuel exports. The energy-dense gas has the potential to reduce emissions in sectors challenging to decarbonise, such as steelmaking and fertiliser manufacturing. The Albanese government wants it to be a massive new export industry and has laid out a pathway through its National Hydrogen Strategy. Unfortunately, there’s a real gap between rhetoric and reality. Despite ambitious plans, no green hydrogen project has yet succeeded in Australia. The technology’s most prominent local backer, billionaire miner Twiggy Forrest, has dialled down his ambition. Globally, just 7% of announced green hydrogen projects are up and running.
The energy giants don’t like it by the WDRM is having a moment (The Energy): A struggling demand response energy saving scheme that the big gentailers want to kill off has suddenly got a spring in its step, doubling its capacity in just over two months with another doubling expected by year’s end. Registrations under the Wholesale Demand Response Mechanism (WDRM) with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) hit 146 megawatts of capacity at the end of June. Demand response involves turning down clients’ power use during heatwave or cold snap-induced supply squeezes and being paid the spot price — which is typically high at these times — for the energy they save. It helps achieve climate targets by replacing coal and gas in the grid when wind and solar are low.
Australians could cut power bills by 90% if they made their homes more energy efficient, report finds (The Guardian): The debate over where Australia gets its energy from has played out like a “comic-book death battle between coal and renewables” in recent years, according to Luke Menzel, the chief executive officer of the Energy Efficiency Council. Discussions over coal versus renewables, the role of gas and the speed of infrastructure rollout to bring renewables online had been “important”, Menzel said. “But there’s a whole other conversation we need to be having. And that’s about how we are using energy.” Menzel and other energy experts say political noise has often overshadowed the role of energy efficiency in Australian homes and how to cut rising household bills.