Catch up
Capital
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Climate Tech Partners reached first close on its new Climate Tech Partners Fund, backed by $15 million each from Australian Ethical Investment and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). The fund has prioritised early stage companies in areas such as next-generation grids, low carbon fuels, and climate adaptation technologies.
“This investment supports the advancement of technology essential to Australia’s climate transition – including rapid prototyping, manufacturing, and exposure to market competition.
The climate tech space in Australia is vibrant, and this is an important time to back innovative companies making breakthroughs in critical technologies.” — CEFC Head of Growth Capital Malcolm Thornton
 Projects
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Approved in 20 days with a state election campaign underway, Environment Minister Murray Watt green lit the 250MW Weasel Solar Farm Station, located in Bothwell 76km north of Hobart, which will include a 144MW/576MWh battery storage system. It will connect to the NEM within the proposed Tasmania Midlands renewable energy zone. The design will also allow agriculture to continue, with sheep able to graze in the shade of the solar panels.
Victoria’s Western Renewables Link (WRL) reached a milestone, with its Environment Effects Statement (EES) to go on public exhibition from June 30. This means community members and landholders will be able to review the EES and the draft Planning Scheme Amendment, make a formal submission to the Department of Transport and Planning, and request to be heard at the independent inquiry that follows.
“While the project has been in the planning stage we have undertaken a wide range of studies along the proposed route … Importantly, the EES has been shaped not only by extensive consultation with landholders, communities, businesses, Traditional Owners, and government representatives, but also through the ongoing involvement of the Technical Reference Group. — AusNet General Manager, Major Projects and Project Lead Gerard Carew
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency allocated $19.8 million on the NeoSmelt project involving BlueScope Steel (ASX: BSL), BHP (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS) and Mitsui towards a front-end engineering design study for lower-emissions steelmaking. Taking the direct reduced iron-electric smelting (DRI-ES) furnace route, the project aims to prove it is possible to produce lower-carbon emission molten iron from Pilbara iron ore.
Funding for NeoSmelt came from the $400 million Industrial Transformation Stream of the $1.9 billion Powering the Regions Fund. The stream is open to supporting industrial facilities in regional Australia to reduce emissions with energy efficiency, renewable energy and electrification technologies. With Woodside as the preferred energy supplier, the pilot plant will initially run on gas and then “lower-carbon emissions hydrogen” once operational.
Santos (ASX: STO) said Darwin LNG extension work in support of the $5.8 billion Barossa LNG project is on track to be completed in Q3. The BW Opal floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) - one of the largest ever built - has arrived at the Barossa gas field north of Darwin, which is in the final stages of commissioning.
With final federal approval still pending on the North West Shelf extension, Friends of Australian Rock Art (FARA) launched legal proceedings against state environmental approval. The judicial review move against the WA Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn and Woodside Energy - challenging the decision by previous Environment Minister Reece Whitby in December 2024 - came on the final day of the statutory limitation period for lodging a challenge.
Policy
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NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe launched the state’s first large-scale Virtual Power Plant (VPP) during a visit to one of the participants, Visy Recycling. Enel X will operate three large-scale VPPs among four being underwritten as part of the NSW Electricity Roadmap’s first firming tender. When all three are operational (by summer) they will have a combined capacity of 95MW of demand response. The 100-plus sites hooked up across Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle and Illawarra will be paid to adjust their energy use when the grid needs it most.
“Industries are showing how smart energy use can help power NSW more reliably. This is about backing businesses to be part of the solution.” — Member for Granville Julia Finn
Meanwhile the Queensland government is leading the charge on improving coal freight efficiency. Trade Minister Ros Bates and Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last hosted a high-level Coal Supply Chain Roundtable in Brisbane as, despite having more than 300 million tonnes of port capacity, Queensland exported less than 200 million tonnes in 2023-24. They are determined to reduce that gap, unlock billions of dollars in exports, and strengthen ties with major coal trading partners India, Japan, China, and South Korea.
Regulation
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The Australian Energy Regulator reduced the amount that can be added to Essential Energy’s total maximum allowed revenue for the 2024-29 period to cover the cost of bushfire mitigation, citing inefficient contingency costs and over-the-odds labour costs. Total project capital expenditure of $63.8 million was approved, some 29% less than proposed.
Climate
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At the Bonn talks on climate, the half-way point between last year’s COP29 in Azerbaijan and the upcoming COP30 in Brazil, some participants said there was a chance to make progress with the US out of the tent. But demonstrations focused on “major contradiction” playing out in real time as Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency (ANP) conducts its latest oil and gas auction that includes blocks in the Equatorial Margin, one of the most sensitive and biodiverse regions of the Amazon. (350) (Inside Climate News)
Meanwhile Australian-headquartered Karoon Energy (ASX: KAR) participated in the ANP 5th Permanent Offer Bid Round for Concession Contracts and was successful in its bid to secure 100% interests in six blocks in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil.
Research
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ANU’s Frank Jotzo and Annette Zou suggest a new way to consider emissions embedded in the nation’s coal and gas exports, which are almost three times the domestic emissions used to tally our national target. A new “net-zero target” for Australia, in which emissions from green exports are tallied up against those from fossil fuel exports, would mean Australia could become the world’s first net-zero exporter of fossil fuels. (The Conversation)
“At some point, we can expect emissions avoided by our green commodity exports to surpass those from remaining coal and gas exports. Australia would then reach what could be termed “net-zero export emissions”. Adopting this net-zero target as a national policy would give a concrete yardstick to Australia’s green-export ambitions. It could also invigorate Australia’s climate policy and boost investor confidence. A different approach would be to set targets only for green exports, and this could be how we get started.” — ANU Professor Frank Jotzo and Senior Researcher Annette Zou
Random
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A study published in Science Advances finds electrons spiral with purpose when passing through certain twisted molecules. (Interesting Engineering)
