Capital
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Carnarvon Petroleum (ASX: CVN) is set to take a stake in Strike Energy (ASX: STX) in a deal that could provide about $100 million for the WA junior to expand exploration and gas power generation, putting spare cash to use as it waits for Santos (ASX: STO) to proceed with its delayed Dorado oil and gas project. (AFR)
IperionX (ASX: IPX), a critical minerals developer and manufacturer of low-carbon titanium alloys and nuts, bolts and screws is seeking $70 million via a placement by its broker Petra Capital. (AFR) (Capital Brief)
The New South Wales Government has given the green light to a $81.4 million bioenergy facility in Horsley Park. The Delorean Corporation facility will divert up to 150,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfill each year, using anaerobic digestion technology to produce methane to run the Austral Bricks plant, replacing natural gas. (Energy Magazine)
 Projects
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Rooftop solar systems have been installed in the remote WA communities of Warmun and Bidyadanga as part of Horizon Power's Kimberley Communities Solar Saver program. Work in a third community, Ardyaloon, is underway. The state and federally funded program started in Warmun, with Horizon installing 422kW of rooftop solar, followed by 356.4kW in Bidyadanga. The program is expected to install up to 300 rooftop solar systems across five communities, with a combined capacity of 2MW.
“Kimberley Communities Solar Saver is like a solar farm, using residential rooftops instead of land, with the benefits being equally distributed among the community customers … Instead of relying solely on diesel generators, community residents can benefit from shared solar power, resulting in a cleaner and cheaper type of energy.”
WA Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation Amber-Jade Sanderson
The next phase of the Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative (SHEPI) in the ACT will include a $12.9 million project to install rooftop solar and batteries that will be connected to a Virtual Power Plant. Nationally, more than 9,500 properties have already received energy performance upgrades through SHEPI partnerships with the federal government, with households saving around $1,800 on their energy bills each year.
“Our next phase of investment in solar and battery systems will further strengthen energy resilience for tenants, while contributing to a more sustainable, low-emissions energy network for Canberra.”
ACT Energy Minister Suzanne Orr
Policy
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People expect the federal government to make a “real, practical difference” to their lives, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told caucus before the opening of the 48th Parliament. Tuesday will be ceremonial, with the first legislation to be introduced on Wednesday, starting with a bill to reduce student debt by 20% and child care reforms. He said energy bill relief and subsidised batteries were part of a “down payment on what will be our year of delivery”, and they were “making an enormous difference, permanently lowering people's power bills as well as helping the entire system because it takes pressure off the energy grid”.
“We know that each and every day we must work hard to repay the faith that has been shown in us … People don't expect perfection. They understand that the world will throw things at us, but they expect that we will put them first rather than be focused internally on what goes on in this building.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Nationals Leader David Littleproud said a review of the party’s position on net zero was still underway and “we'll get to an informed position, much like we did with the Voice”. He claimed net zero was almost impossible to achieve, saying it should be about “trying to reduce emissions in a sensible way, but not at any cost and not at the cost of regional rural Australians”.
“I just say to city people, we're not saying we don't believe in climate change, we're just saying you're asking us to bear all the burden.”
Nationals Leader
David Littleproud told
Sky News
Technology
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Australian engineering company Pyrocal was selected as preferred contractor to install its Continuous Carbonisation Technology (CCT) at a treatment facility in the Capital Regional District of British Columbia, Canada, to convert biosolids into biochar. Building on Pyrocal’s Australia-first unit at Queensland’s Loganholme Wastewater Treatment Plant, CRD Board Chair Cliff McNeil-Smith said their process reduced emissions and removed carbon from the atmosphere while significantly lowering biosolids disposal costs and the need for landfill. The Canadian project is expected to commence early next year.
Climate
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Demonstrators rallied outside the Land Court in Brisbane opposing what is set to be one of Australia's biggest coal mines, saying the Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) proposal would contribute to a "climate catastrophe". (AAP)
"It's the right project, in the right place, by the right miner at the right time.”
Barrister Saul Holt KC, acting for Whitehaven
People
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Countering ageism is key to unlocking Australia’s productivity potential, according to older people's advocacy organisation COTA Australia. A report by the Australian Human Rights Commission and Australian Human Resources Institute found almost one quarter of HR professionals now classify workers aged 51 to 55 as “older”.
“The more we sideline older people, the more we all lose, through wasted experience, lost productivity, and missed chances to build a better future. Ageism doesn’t just hurt older people — it impacts us all. Putting measures in place to address workplace discrimination will be good for everyone — older people who want to continue to work, businesses, younger workers, and our economy as a whole. Older Australians aren’t a problem to fix. They’re a big part of the solution. It’s time we saw them that way.”
COTA Australia CEO Patricia Sparrow
Research
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Microgrid systems with hydrogen could work for remote areas. A new computational design tool is proposed for renewable power microgrids with integrated hydrogen energy storage in this academic paper by US-based Jack Cimorelli, Victor Eniola, Christopher Niezrecki, Xinfang Jin and David Willis in the International Journal of Energy Research.
Random
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Large-scale wind and solar anyone? Macquarie put the $2.5 billion Paraway agricultural empire, comprising 28 stations across Queensland, NSW and Victoria, up for auction. (AFR)
