Weekly Decarbonisation and Climate Update (18 July)
Climate Politics
PM to laud explosive growth in trade with China (ABC News): Anthony Albanese will use high-profile meetings with top business leaders in Shanghai today to heap praise on the Australian-Chinese economic relationship, while promising to back industry efforts to decarbonise China's huge steel sector. Australian exports of coal and iron ore have been critical to China's massive construction boom and poured hundreds of billions of dollars into Australian government coffers. But China is now trying to turn to other iron ore suppliers, while also cutting steel production and moving to decarbonise industrial production.
Albanese’s green steel boost leaves Queensland’s coal budget hopes in the dust (Renew Economy): Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Beijing this week is far more than a diplomatic stopover; it’s a strategic push for a green steel revolution. Describing his approach as “patient, calibrated and deliberate,” Albanese’s decarbonisation push is laying the groundwork for Australia’s most promising economic future. And he couldn’t have picked a better country to partner with. China is not only responsible for buying more of Australia’s exports than our next 10 trading partners combined, it’s also the world’s biggest steel producer by a country mile (and then some). According to the World Steel Association, China produces more steel than the rest of the world, combined. But this linchpin of the global steel market is coming off historic peaks, and it looks like its short term demand is beginning to falter, and that’s put some of Australia’s biggest resource exports into a tough spot of late.
Climate trigger ‘should be considered’ for major projects (The Australian Financial Review): Former Treasury secretary Ken Henry says the overhaul of the nation’s broken environmental laws should consider the inclusion of a climate trigger to ensure developmental approval of major projects takes into account their impact on global warming. Henry, the chair of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation, said the trigger should be considered because Australia did not have an economy-wide carbon price.
Australian miners warn on iron ore oversupply, steel glut (The Australian Financial Review): Australian exporters face mounting pressure to go green or risk losing relevance in an oversupplied global market as China demands cleaner, higher-grade iron ore, mining executives have warned. Geraldine Slattery, president of BHP Australia, said the market dynamics, driven by new ore supply from West Africa, peak or falling steel output and plans by Beijing to move from coal-fired to electric arc steel furnaces and, ultimately, hydrogen, had put miners on notice.
Ken Henry’s top reform: the environment, not tax (The Australian Financial Review): Fixing Australia’s broken environment laws to speed up development approvals while safeguarding nature is more important than tax reform or any other measures when it came to boosting Australia’s ailing productivity, former Treasury secretary Ken Henry says… Speaking in his capacity as chair of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation, Henry says new mines and processing plants for critical minerals, more housing and associated roads and other infrastructure, and solar and wind farms and the requisite thousands of kilometres of transmission lines, could not be “loaded onto broken EPBC project assessment and approval processes”.
Investor confidence in Queensland renewables wanes (The Australian): A series of policy interventions by the Queensland government means would-be developers now see greater opportunity elsewhere – a trend that threatens the state’s transition plan.
Pressure grows on Allan government over coal plant closure (The Australian Financial Review): The mining union is piling pressure on the Allan government to explain how it will guarantee energy security for Victorians after the huge Yallourn coal power station closes as delays to transmission and offshore wind projects raise fresh doubts about renewable replacements. The slow development of gas options to replace declining output from the Bass Strait fields has added to anxiety among industry and labour unions about secure power when EnergyAustralia closes the 1480-megawatt Yallourn generator in mid-2028.
AEMO puts grid-forming batteries and household devices at centre of roadmap to 100 pct renewables (Renew Economy): The Australian Energy Market Operator has released its new technology priorities to allow it to accommodate periods of 100 per cent renewables on Australia’s main grids, with much of the focus on grid forming battery inverters and consumer resources such as solar, batteries and EVs. The latest update to AEMO’s Engineering Roadmap outlines 29 priority actions for the coming year, as it seeks to facilitate periods of higher renewables, above last year’s peak of 75.6 per cent penetration in Australian’s main grid, and 85.1 per cent in the isolated South West Interconnected System in Western Australia.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Groundswell for climate and energy justice puts the heat back on PRRT (The Energy): Australia’s levy on oil and gas profits was enacted in a 1980s policy environment that sought to encourage exploration and production of products that were considered essential to the economy and living standards. Since tweaked several times, the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) is charged on top of company tax on behalf of citizens for the right to develop and profit from Australia’s globally significant natural resources. Oil and gas remains a top three export industry for Australia, alongside iron ore and coal mining.
Back to future on carbon price with Rio (The Australian): Rio Tinto is backing a price on carbon and more taxpayer funds to be poured into meeting Labor’s contentious 82 per cent renewables target.
Business lobby calls for weak 2035 emissions target, even as key members warn of climate calamity (Renew Economy): Australia’s biggest business lobby group has issued a call for the federal government to set a weak 2035 emissions reduction target, despite some of its own key member organisations aiming for net zero by that date and warning of “climate-driven market failure.” Australia is overdue to set its next Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement in 2025 – an emissions reduction target for 2035 that will sit somewhere between the 2030 target of 43% below 2005 and the ultimate goal of net zero emissions by 2050. In a submission to the Productivity Commission, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has warned against aiming too high on the 2035 target, when it says the 2030 target is “becoming increasingly challenging” and “slipping out of reach.”
APA warns LNG import plan risks underestimating costs (Energy News Bulletin): APA Group has sharpened its attack on proposals to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) into Australia, warning that floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) come with hidden costs that could drive up power bills and distort the country's energy investment decisions. In a submission to the Australian Energy Market Operator's (AEMOs) 2026 Integrated System Plan, the gas infrastructure giant said current modelling fails to capture key operational expenses of LNG import terminals, including leasing, port fees, energy use and staffing. "The most significant operating cost is the charter of the FSRU itself," APA wrote.
ACCC details Acciona acquisition concerns (Business News): The competition watchdog has warned Acciona’s move to acquire the East Rockingham waste to energy project would stifle competition in the sector.
Federal Court rules Australian government doesn’t have a duty of care to protect Torres Strait Islanders from climate change (The Conversation): The Federal Court has handed down its long-awaited judgement in a four-year climate case brought by Torres Strait Islanders. Elders Uncle Pabai Pabai and Uncle Paul Kabai took the Australian government to court on behalf of their community, arguing the government has a duty of care to protect them from climate change. They also asked the court to legally recognise the cultural loss and harm they are experiencing from sea-level rise and climate-induced flooding. But the court declined to recognise either duty or to legally recognise cultural harm.
Chalmers urged to loosen performance test to get super behind net zero (Australian Financial Review): The peak lobby group for Australia’s $4.3 trillion superannuation sector has warned annual performance benchmarking of funds is undermining the net zero transition and other productivity boosting investments. In a paper published ahead of Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ three day Economic Reform Roundtable next month, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia said its members were sometimes hesitant to invest in areas such as renewable energy because they risked getting a poor performance grade.
HSBC exits banks’ climate coalition abandoned by Wall Street (The Australian Financial Review): HSBC has left the world’s biggest climate alliance for banks, which was rocked earlier in the year by an exodus of many of its largest members. HSBC said the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) played an important role in helping develop frameworks for setting emissions-reduction targets.
Beyond the footy jersey fund: Regional communities urged to think bigger on renewables benefit sharing (Renew Economy): A new practical blueprint on renewable energy benefit sharing has set out how regional communities can pool funds across multiple wind, solar and battery projects to achieve big-picture “legacy-scale” initiatives, as well as small and medium-scale projects. The Guide to Regional Benefit Sharing, developed by Community Power Agency and published this week, responds to the growing reality that multiple projects are landing in the same places, often overwhelming communities with piecemeal grant programs. In particular, in designated Renewable Energy Zones (REZ), the Community Power Agency (CPA) says there is a need to shift from isolated programs to include region-wide coordination, an approach it calls regional benefit sharing.
Carbon Markets
Miners warn of carbon credit cliff (The Australian): The Minerals Council has warned that a weak supply of carbon credits will raise the cost of the country’s transition to net zero.
New opportunities to reduce coal sector emissions: IEEFA (Mining.com.au): The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) reveals government carbon credit reforms could potentially boost Australia’s climate ambitions in the coal sector. A report by the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC) confirms the integrity of carbon credits earned through the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) scheme from converting coal mine waste gas into electricity. This method offers a practical pathway for real emissions reductions along with the Safeguard Mechanism (SGM), and coincides with new grant funding to decarbonise coalmines in New South Wales and Queensland, totalling $305 million and $520 million, respectively.
Green Projects and Initiatives
“Critical” national battery hub in doubt after state LNP government cuts $100 million in funding (Renew Economy): Plans to develop a battery industry hub in Queensland are hanging in the balance, after the state portion of funding promised for the project was cut by the Crisafulli LNP government as it continues its war on renewable and associated technologies. The Advanced Materials and Battery Council (AMBC) said on Monday that $105 million earmarked for development of a Queensland-based facility to accelerate national commercialisation of battery technology has been cut from the state’s 2025-26 budget. The state funding for the proposed Australian Battery Industrialisation Centre (ABIC) had been pledged in 2022 by the former Labor Queensland government and was to be matched by federal Labor, through its National Battery Strategy.
Renewable targets dealt fresh blow as major Victorian offshore windfarm abandoned after energy giant failed to find buyer (Sky News): A significant Victorian offshore wind project has been scrapped after US-backed energy giant BlueFloat confirmed it had failed to find a buyer. The company was reportedly mulling the sale of its Gippsland project off the Victorian coast in early July, with the development considered essential for meeting state and federal emission reduction deadlines. BlueFloat Energy acquired a feasibility license late last year to construct the Victorian offshore wind facility, and further secured a preliminary development license to build an offshore wind complex in New South Wales off the Illawarra coast.
Show us the money: Gippsland offshore wind aspirants plead with government for more support (Renew Economy): Offshore wind developers working in the country’s first dedicated zone in Gippsland are warning governments that the business case for what they’re doing is still not clear, and asking for more “support” from the top. The problem worrying developers is that they are paying a lot of up-front costs to advance their sites, at a time when budgets are tight, yet there is no clarity yet over what price they will be paid for the electricity at the other end. “We are many things, but we’re not a non-profit organisation. We need steady returns,” RWE’s Jens Orfelt told the Australian Wind Energy 2025 industry forum in Melbourne on Thursday.
Chinese PV giant proposes huge solar battery hybrid project to tap into major new industrial loads (Renew Economy): Chinese solar PV giant Trina Solar has proposed another major solar hybrid project, this time with a 400 MW, 1,600 MWh facility that is seeking to tap into major new industrial and electrification loads. The Killawarra project is slated for a site near the small town of Kadathinni, about 300 kms north of Perth, and intends to tap into the north-south 330kW transmission line that runs through the property. It proposes to combine a 400 MW solar farm with an “integrated” battery sized at 400 MW and 1,600 MWh. The project is budgeted at $700 million, according to state planning documents.
Athena resources, Warradarge Energy reveal Mid West green iron project (Business News): An aspiring magnetite miner and renewable energy project developer will work to establish a new green iron project in the Mid West.
Giant gold mine switches off gas and diesel for first time after completion of largest off-grid hybrid system (Renew Economy): A recently completed 115MW hybrid power system at a massive gold mine in Western Australia has recently been testing its hydrocarbons off (HOFF) functionality which meets the mine’s total energy load is met by wind and solar energy. The hybrid power system was completed earlier this year by Pacific Energy at the Tropicana gold mine located 330 kilometres northeast of Kalgoorlie that is jointly owned and operated by AngloGold Ashanti and Regis Resources. The hybrid system combines four 6MW wind turbines, a 24 MW solar farm, and a 13 MW, 4 MWh battery energy storage system, which are paired with 54 MW of gas generation capacity, and is described as the largest off-grid hybrid power system in the Australian resources sector.
Concrete pour completed for wind turbines at Australia’s biggest off-grid renewables hub (Renew Economy): Australia’s biggest off-grid renewable energy projects, being developed to power a gold mine site in a remote region of Western Australia, has marked a “pivotal moment,” with the concrete foundations for its seven wind turbines all now in place. Global mining giant Gold Fields said on Thursday that seven concrete foundations have been poured at the project site, located 80km south of Kalgoorlie, in preparation for the arrival of the wind turbine components by September. The seven wind turbines, totalling 42 megawatts (MW) of power generating capacity, are part of Gold Fields’ landmark $A296 million St Ives Renewables Project, which also includes a 35 MW solar farm.
New $8 million fund backs WA wind energy manufacturing sector (Manufacturers’ monthly): The Western Australian Government has announced the first recipient of its $8 million Wind Energy Manufacturing Co-Investment Program, aimed at building Western Australia’s sovereign manufacturing capability to meet growing demand in the renewables sector. Bayswater-based Australian Winders will receive $488,204 in co-investment funding to support a $976,408 project that will boost its automation, training and quality management systems, allowing the company to expand into the wind energy supply chain.
Huge 197-turbine wind farm and four-hour battery proposed to tap into new Copperstring link (Renew Economy): Irish renewables developer DP Energy has unveiled plans to build a massive, nearly 200-turbine wind farm and four-hour big battery in North Queensland, alongside the 1,100km, CopperString transmission project being built by the state government. The Windy Plains Renewable Energy Park (REP) proposes to combine around 1,400 megawatts (MW) of wind generation capacity with a 500 MW, 2,000 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS), roughly 40 km southeast of Julia Creek in the McKinlay Shire. The newly launched project website says the 197 turbine project has recently completed the project feasibility stage and is now at the very beginning of the assessment, consultation and design phase, including detailed environmental, planning, and technical assessments.
Milestone for 300MW Queensland BESS (Energy Magazine): The first delivery for the Stanwell Battery project has arrived in Central Queensland marking a key milestone for the project. The first consignment of Tesla Megapack 2XL units has safely arrived at the project site adjacent to Stanwell Power Station near Rockhampton. In total, 324 Megapack units will arrive on site over the next few months and together will make up Stanwell’s 300MW Battery Energy Storage System with four-hour duration.
Transgrid finalises plan to maintain grid stability amid renewable energy transition (Australian Manufacturing): Transgrid has finalised its system strength plan for New South Wales, setting out a portfolio of solutions designed to maintain grid stability as the state transitions away from coal-fired power generation. After a three-year process involving the assessment of more than 100 possible solutions, Transgrid has published its Project Assessment Conclusions Report (PACR), marking the final step in a regulatory process to determine the most cost-effective and technically sound approach to ensuring grid stability.
Blue Float Energy abandons $10 billion Gippsland Dawn offshore wind proposal (ABC News): The developer of a proposed $10 billion Victorian offshore wind farm has abandoned the project, prompting fears Australia may not reach its renewable energy targets. Gippsland Dawn was to be a 2-gigawatt offshore wind farm built between Paradise Beach and Ocean Grange on the Gippsland coast. The proposal received major project status from the federal government in November, and promised to deliver power to more than one million homes. But the company behind the project, Blue Float Energy, withdrew from offshore wind internationally after major shareholder Quantum Capital said it was no longer commercially viable to invest in the sector.
BHP turns to Chinese partners for decarbonisation projects (The Australian): BHP will look to electrify its mining operations, with the help of Chinese car maker BYD, and Hong Kong-listed battery heavyweight CATL.
Chinese and Italian firms team up to launch portfolio of “first of its kind” wind and battery hybrids in Australia (Renew Economy): Chinese-based wind turbine and battery maker Envision Energy has announced its first major deal in Australia, teaming up with Italy’s Fera to build a “first of its kind” wind and battery hybrid, with plans to roll out a gigawatt scale portfolio. The announcement of the partnership was made at the Australian Wind Energy Conference in Melbourne on Thursday, and will see the development of a first “pilot” facility at the small 35 MW Wombelano project in western Victoria. The project will likely feature a true wind and battery hybrid, sharing the same connection point and using grid-forming inverters. The construction of hybrid solar and battery plants is growing, but this is believed to be the first of its kind in Australia, apart from the ground-breaking wind, solar and battery hybrid at Kennedy in north Queensland.
“Living lab” seeks citizen scientists to share home energy data, and help get consumer transition right (Renew Economy): Australia’s premier science agency, the CSIRO, is looking to recruit thousands of ordinary people to become citizen scientists in a new “living lab” that will gather and analyse real-world energy data from households and businesses across the country. The major new research effort is part of the CSIRO’s National Energy Analysis Centre (NEAC), which was launched on Thursday as a vital research tool to help steer Australia’s energy transition with greater clarity and coordination and to de-risk it – particularly for consumers. A key part of the NEAC will be the Living Lab, which aims to tap the anonymised energy data from thousands of households and businesses using state-of-the-art energy system modelling, analysis and visualisation tools, as well as old-fashioned surveys.
Polarised light pollution cut by nano-coated solar panels benefits wildlife (PV Magazine): A Perth-based Murdoch University researcher has found large-scale solar farms impact migratory routes of wildlife due to polarised light pollution but could be improved with nano-coated solar panels. Undertaken at the Harry Butler Institute with funding from Fortescue Metals Group, research found the vast, flat surfaces of solar farms look like lakes to birds, interfering with their natural migrations. Detailed in a paper published in the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews journal, called All that glitters – Review of solar facility impacts on fauna it also says large collections of panels have also been found to confuse the echolocation of bats and attract them to drink, increasing the risk of collision. Paper Author and Wildlife Ecologist Professor Trish Fleming says nano-coatings can alter the way light is reflected, making the panels less visually disruptive to birds.
Other Matters of Interest
Australia’s industrial decarbonisation tipping point is now (The Energy): As the federal government finalises a support package for Nyrstar’s zinc smelters in Tasmania and South Australia, it’s clear that even our most strategically important industries are under pressure. These plants aren’t just legacy infrastructure - they’re critical to national capability, regional jobs and supply chain resilience. Their challenges underscore a bigger truth: without a clear, coordinated plan for industrial decarbonisation, Australia risks responding to one crisis at a time instead of building a system that secures long-term competitiveness. With relative stability in the political space, it's very clear what policy will look like over the next few years. We know where we’re heading with the grid. We know what the emissions targets will be. We know what the renewable targets will be.
Why would Australia import LNG? (The Energy): One its face, it seems bonkers that Australia - as one of the three largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters in the world - would make plans to import the stuff for its own use. Yet as the east coast’s traditional mainstay - the Bass Strait joint venture - steadily runs out, that’s where we are. It's a situation bolstered by Queensland LNG producers remaining resolute on exports, new domestic supplies materialising slowly and headline-grabbing fears of supply shortfalls from 2028. But what makes aspiring LNG importers Squadron Energy and Viva Energy so confident they can absorb the high costs of liquefaction, transport and regasification to supply domestic markets at competitive prices?
Australia’s green hydrogen dream falters: 5 key reasons (PV Magazine): As the world looks for ways to tackle climate change, Australia has invested heavily in green hydrogen, which is shaping as the best option to strip carbon emissions from some industrial processes, such as iron-making and ammonia production. But making the dream a reality in Australia is proving difficult. Two recent announcements are a case in point. This month, the Queensland government withdrew financial support for the Central Queensland Hydrogen Hub. It came weeks after energy company Fortescue cut 90 green hydrogen jobs in Queensland and Western Australia.
Solar innovation changed the world. Now, the research race is on to save it (Renew Economy): When we talk to our friends and family about renewable energy, it’s easy to use a simple scene of sunshine, wind and flowing water. But behind those familiar images lies a far more complex story of human ingenuity and innovation. The technical feats that it took to design the hidden gear technology within a wind turbine are breathtaking. The shape and pitch of the blades are a triumph of aerodynamic and computational fluid dynamics. Then there is the solar panel. Australia is home to some of the best and brightest minds in energy The first practical solar PV panel model was made in 1954, but it took a great Australian, Professor Martin Green, working with a team at University of New South Wales (UNSW), to improve the efficiency and produce the technology we see in the vast majority of solar cells used globally. It was research that changed the world. The father of the modern solar panel is an Aussie. Aussie know-how, supported by a university, led the world in arguably the world’s most important renewable energy technology.