Capital
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Golden Plains Wind Farm owner TagEnergy acquired early stage developer ACE Power for an undisclosed sum, adding 6GW of battery, wind and solar projects to its portfolio. The deal will see 27 ACE Power staff members join TagEnergy.
Large swings in policy in the US and China didn’t stop an increase in global renewable energy investment, up 10% to a record US$386 billion in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period a year earlier. BloombergNEF’s latest Renewable Energy Investment Tracker showed a 13% downturn in asset finance for utility-scale solar and onshore wind, offset by growth in small-scale solar and offshore wind investments.
Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) announced a new operating model grouped as three businesses: Iron Ore, Aluminium & Lithium, and Copper. Rio Tinto’s Lithium business will move into the Aluminium product group under the leadership of Jérôme Pécresse. Copper, led by Katie Jackson, remains well positioned to capitalise on the global energy transition, focused on the successful ramp up of Oyu Tolgoi, the stabilising of Kennecott and advancing future options, including the Resolution project in the US and partnerships such as Nuevo Cobre in Chile, the company said. Matthew Holcz was appointed Chief Executive Iron Ore.
Basin Energy (ASX: BSN) has signed a binding agreement to acquire NeoDys, providing a foothold in the Mt Isa region of northwest Queensland covering 5,958 km² of tenure prospective for uranium and rare earth elements. The assets are located near Paladin Energy’s (ASX: PDN) Valhalla uranium deposits and Red Metal’s (ASX: RDM) Sybella rare earths discovery.
Australian oil and gas explorer Invictus Energy (ASX:IVZ) announced a partnership with a private enterprise linked to the Qatari Royal Family. Al Mansour Holdings (AMH), established by Sheikh Mansoor bin Jabor bin Jassim Al Thani to invest in Africa, will take a 19.9% stake in Invictus for A$37.8 million. Another US$500 million of conditional future funding will be provided to develop and commercialise Invictus’ Cabora Bassa Project in Zimbabwe.
Karoon Energy (ASX: KAR) upgraded its Bauna Project oil offshore Brazil.
Mitsubishi cancelled further development on three Japanese offshore wind projects due to the price of construction more than doubling since it won auctions in 2021.(Power Magazine)
 Projects
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The Hunter Transmission Project released its environmental impact statement (EIS) for public scrutiny. An EIS is an essential part of the planning process for major infrastructure projects. It assesses the environmental, social and economic impacts and opportunities of the project. It also outlines how impacts will be avoided, minimised or managed.
“The Hunter Transmission Project is a vital part of NSW’s plan to secure our energy future. The release of the EIS marks an important step in planning and delivering infrastructure that will ensure a reliable, affordable and clean energy future … I encourage the community, landholders and stakeholders to review the EIS, understand the project and provide their feedback.”
Peter Redwin
Project Director
The federal government offered three preliminary feasibility licences for offshore wind projects totalling 2.5GW in Western Australia’s Bunbury Zone, with the state forecast to need 50GW of additional generation by 2042. The projects, backed by an offshoot of the French government’s EDF Group and ENGIE plus Spanish giant EDP, add to the 12 feasibility projects under development on the east coast, with more to come, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said, just days after Norwegian giant Equinor pulled out of a $10 billion project in the Hunter region.
WA’s Goldfields region continued its rapid adoption of wind farms with a load of turbines, manufactured by Goldwind and shipped from China to Geraldton, to be driven to St Ives mine located 80km south of Kalgoorlie. (The West)
Transgrid and its EnergyConnect construction partner Elecnor Australia completed construction of one of the biggest and most sophisticated substations in the Southern Hemisphere. The Buronga substation in southwestern NSW is 15ha in size and is vital for the 900km interconnector that will provide access to renewable energy across three states.
“The scale and engineering complexity of this substation is unlike anything else in Australia. Working alongside our delivery partners across civil, structural, mechanical and electrical disciplines, we overcame engineering challenges to integrate highly specialised equipment from around the world including phase-shifting transformers, synchronous condensers, capacitor banks and shunt reactors.”
Felipe Delgado
Elecnor Australia’s EnergyConnect Project Director
Policy
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The Greens slammed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for skipping parliamentary proceedings to attend what they described as “climate disinformation spreader News Corp’s Bush Summit” sponsored by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart.
Albanese told the summit in Wagga Wagga, NSW, that the region was spearheading the $2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries Program that will reduce costs for everyone by reducing peak demand and making the electricity grid more stable.
“Riverina is in the top 10 per cent nationally, with households in and around Wagga installing batteries at a rate five times more than the electorate of Wentworth. When you look at the electorates around Australia, it is regional Australia that are all in the top 10. In NSW, Gilmore is first, Richmond is second on the far north coast, and Page is third around Grafton, Casino and Lismore. It is regional Australia that is leading this change because it makes an enormous difference and makes economic sense. It's as simple as that to them.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
“As of this morning 40,000 Australian households have installed a cheaper home battery – 40,004 to be precise,” Energy Minister Chris Bowen told reporters at SolarHub in Canberra.
Inflation jumped more than expected to 2.8% in July on higher electricity prices and a delay in households in some states receiving government rebates for power bills. (AFR)
Regulation
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One planning document to rule them all? One of the recommendations buried in the 239-page NEM review draft report is a suggestion that energy ministers consider rationalising NEM forecasting and planning documents to avoid inconsistencies and duplication.
In this week’s webinar with the review panel, Ava Hancock spelled this out a little more.
“We've also heard from participants and from ministers about the proliferation of planning documents between the ISP, the ESOO, the IOO report, MT PASA, a series of reports that include really important planning information, but run the risk of duplicating or, even worse, having inconsistencies between them and creating confusion for participants. So we think it's important to have a look at those suite of planning documents and try and consolidate them and make them useful to avoid that inconsistency and duplication.”
Ava Hancock
NEM Review panellist
Technology
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Scottish company ZOEX Power deployed its wave energy technology for testing in the Black Sea, with initial results showing higher generation than anticipated. (Offshore Energy)
Gen Z and millennial customers are taking more interest in energy efficiency, turning to technology to help them achieve it, according to a new US survey from the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative. (Utility Dive)
Climate
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Getting rid of fossil fuels is really hard, and we’re not making much progress. (The Conversation)
The most recent in The New Joneses climate solutions series speaks with coal miners, farmers and communities who are welcoming renewables to the regions.
People
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Career diplomat Will Nankervis was appointed Australia’s Ambassador for Climate Change with the bid to host COP31 talks in the balance. He replaces Kristin Tilley who left the post in June.
Geologist Sinead Kaufman will leave Rio Tinto at the end of October after almost 30 years with the company, including leading the divestment from coal and establishing lithium operations.
Grid tech company Plexigrid announced Peter Tornberg as Chief Operating Officer.
Random
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Like notches in the trunk of an old tree, your first Major ReviewTM is a marker for when you got into energy politics/regulation. (Currently Speaking)
