Catch up
Capital
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Germany’s WestWind Energy and Shell Energy mandated Lazard Australia to sell wind farm developer, WestWind Energy Development amid rising costs. WestWind has historically focused mostly on Victoria but the development pipeline, excluding the battery and transmission projects, is now divided between NSW (38%), Victoria (29%), Queensland (28%) and South Australia (5%). (Ion Analytics) (AFR)
Climate Investment Funds selected seven emerging economies to share US$1 billion to pioneer industrial decarbonisation in the first global concessional finance initiative dedicated to reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions in developing economies. Critical to the global energy transition, finance will be available for green hydrogen, waste heat recovery, and developing low-carbon steel, aluminum, and cement.
“The global race to decarbonize industry has begun, and emerging markets are out front. Decarbonizing Industry is about more than emissions - it’s about securing long term prosperity and the jobs of tomorrow. And it’s about producing the low-carbon industrial inputs that are urgently needed to expand renewable energy capacity and power the global economy.” — CIF Chief Executive Tariye Gbadegesin
A fall in China’s imports of LNG prompted leading analysts to revise their forecasts, citing US tariffs as having a significant impact on both exports and industrial demand. China’s annual imports of LNG will decline for the first time in three years, according to five analysts, as well as strong domestic and piped gas supply. A decline in imports by the world’s top LNG buyer is likely to drive up global supply and drag Asian spot prices. (Asia Financial)
 Projects
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Gina Rinehart-backed Vulcan Energy (ASX: VUL) received building permits for a 30MW geothermal power plant and substation to power the Lionheart sustainable lithium production project.
“We plan to produce battery-quality lithium products from the same geothermal brine that is used to produce renewable energy for local use. “Approval of the permit means we are that much closer towards our goal of enabling a long-term transition to renewable energy in Landau and developing a local source of sustainable lithium for the European battery industry.”— Vulcan Energy CEO Cris Moreno
Policy
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WA Energy and Decarbonisation Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson released the Draft Guideline on Community Benefits for Renewable Energy Projects, with feedback due by August 4. Actionable insights include a suggested inflation-indexed benefit-sharing range per MW for wind and solar:
- $500–$1,500 per MW per annum for wind projects
- $150–$800 per MW per annum for solar projects
Similar to federal Resources Minister Madeleine King’s approach for the east coast gas market review, a select group will be corralled by Environment Minister Murray Watts to reach consensus on federal laws. The Guardian reported Watt was leaning toward pursuing an environmental watchdog and amendments to the EPBC Act in one package. Felicity Wade, the national co-convener of the Labor Environment Action Network, said corporate Australia needed to “leave its bludgeons at the door” as the process started afresh.
Meanwhile, BHP and Rio Tinto’s plans to earn carbon credits by storing carbon in mine waste and producing carbon-neutral diesel from trees environmental projects have been knocked back by federal officials. (AFR)
Regulation
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Represented by the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO), community group Lock the Gate commenced legal proceedings to make the NSW Planning Department release correspondence it received from coal company lawyers - after FOI requests were denied. “Our client rejects the Planning Department’s assertion that information shared by coal mining companies with the regulator is subject to professional legal privilege and therefore exempt under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009,” EDO Managing Lawyer Rana Koroglu said. Expanding coal mines via modifications means coal mine developers avoid having their plans determined by the Independent Planning Commission, which has serious implications for public participation, EDO said.
“There are 10 coal projects undergoing or awaiting assessment as modifications, and we want to make sure they are subject to the highest level of scrutiny available in NSW. The NSW Government must give full consideration to the impacts large coal mine expansions are having on communities, water, farmland, the environment, and climate and let the public participate in decision-making.” — Lock the Gate Alliance Head of Research and Investigations Georgina Woods
Technology
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Victoria’s Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio opened Australia’s largest hydrogen refueling project and the first public servo to offer renewable hydrogen to commercial trucks and transport. The $61.2 million Viva Energy New Energies Service Station in Corio, Geelong, was funded with $34 million investment from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and $1 million from the state government’s Renewable Hydrogen Commercialisation Pathways Fund.
The station has a 2.5MW onsite electrolyser, which converts recycled water and renewable electricity into renewable hydrogen. It was designed to refuel 10 trucks or buses in under two hours, with refueling taking around 15 minutes for the average fill. Depending on the vehicle type and load, the average fill will provide a range of between 200-450km.
Climate
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The New South Wales Nationals have voted to abandon Australia’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 at the party’s weekend state conference in Coffs Harbour, increasing pressure on federal National leader David Littleproud to follow suit. (The Guardian)
A Bonn meeting will examine the state of multilateralism, strained by global conflicts and the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, for the second time, under Donald Trump. (The Brussels Times)
People
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Kelly O’Shanassy will step down as CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation. “It’s been an honour to lead this powerhouse organisation and serve Australians who love nature and want climate action. It’s a hard decision to step away — but unlike solar and wind, CEO energy is not renewable, and it’s time for a break,” she said.
Research
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In a study of economic and health impacts, the University of Maryland Center for Global Sustainability found rolling back clean energy policies would result in a US$1.1 trillion reduction in US GDP by 2035, a US$160 billion cumulative income loss, and at least 22,800 additional deaths of Americans over the next decade. Even if some of the states were getting gains from the fossil fuel industry, that was offset by losses in clean energy benefits.
Random
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The AFR blamed “feeble” renewables for Victoria’s price volatility as gas-powered generation covers for an outage at EnergyAustralia’s Yallourn coal-fired power station amid a cold snap.
