Capital
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Three-quarters of Australia’s coal-fired power capacity will have been retired by 2035, BloombergNEF (BNEF) has noted in a warning that operators have less than a decade to bolster alternative baseline power supply. Despite recent state moves to extend the lifespan of key coal-fired generators, a major decline in 2029 will slash coal-fired generation to around 15GW, with generation declining to around 6GW in 2035 and just 1GW by 2040 amid what Australian senior associate Sahaj Sood called growing “fears… that not enough replacement capacity will be installed in time.”
Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS) beaten 2025 production guidance despite lower demand from Australia’s east coast market and a 4% quarterly decline in fourth-quarter production, the company revealed in quarterly results. It flagged a slide in production for the year ahead, partly due to a five-week maintenance shutdown of the Pluto LNG venture. (AFR)
Decarbonisation has become a critical part of data centre growth strategy, venture capital analyst firm PitchBook has advised in a report that found investment in AI-linked climate technology surged 59% from 2024 to 2025, when it reached a record $9.4 billion ($US6.6 billion) from 304 deals. Energy systems and energy asset monitoring are seeing “particularly strong AI adoption,” Pitchbook notes, with AI increasingly used to process time-series data from grid infrastructure, energy-consumption devices, distributed energy resources and storage systems. (PitchBook, download with free registration)
 Projects
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QPM Energy Limited’s 112MW Isaac Power Station has marked a major milestone, executing a Connection Project Delivery Agreement with Powerlink Queensland that allows Powerlink to begin construction at its Moranbah substation — crucial in linking the power station to Queensland’s electricity network. The agreement gives QPM a 30-year connection term, with a target of energising the power station by mid 2027.
Southerly Ten CEO Charles Rattray has welcomed the news that Victoria has rescheduled its first offshore wind auction to August. “Extensive site studies confirm that Star of the South is feasible and ready to deliver benefits to Gippsland, Victoria and Australia,” he said. The auction will provide a mechanism for development of an initial 2GW of capacity.
Regulation
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The Essential Services Commission has cancelled the accreditation of energy efficiency consultant Save Energy Solutions after it was found to have submitted doctored photos of heat pump water heater installations, allowing it to fraudulently claim certificates under the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program. As well as being declared “no longer… fit and proper or competent and capable to be accredited,” the ESC refused to register 1,920 Victorian energy efficiency certificates worth $154,080. The cancellation follows similar recent action against Vision Environmental Solutions, Green Energy Trading, and MYOM Australia.
Technology
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ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) will trial High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology in its FutureGrid Accelerator, an AI infrastructure testbed located at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The facility is the region’s first live testbed demonstrating the use of real AI workloads running on HVDC – an alternative to conventional AC-based electrical systems that reduces energy consumption by up to 30%, cuts carbon emissions by up to 400 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per MW per year, and supports ultra high density racks of greater than 1,000kW that are becoming necessary as AI data centre power consumption continues to surge.
Sodium‑ion technologies are already competitive with some lithium‑ion counterparts in select segments of the market. “In applications where size and weight are less critical, such as stationary energy storage, sodium‑ion batteries are already beginning to emerge commercially,” lead author Nazmul Hossain told pv magazine. “Major manufacturers, such as CATL, have announced plans to begin mass production of next‑generation sodium‑ion cells by 2026, with intentions to expand their use into vehicles and storage systems.”
Climate
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Soaring temperatures in Victoria drove demand in the state to all-time highs, with its 17-year record of 10,496MW falling as record-beating temperatures nearing 50°C across the state drove demand to 10,784MW just before 7pm local time on 27th January. More than 94,000 customers were reported to be without power across the state. (Watt Clarity)
Research
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The United States’ withdrawal from global climate accords will boost temperatures by 0.1°C to 0.2°C but the world’s other countries can limit global warming increases to 1.8°C to 2.2°C by 2100, new Climate Resource modelling has found. Achieving those targets will require other countries to achieve mid-century net-zero goals aligned with stronger 2035 climate targets. By contrast, temperature rises are projected to be 2.5°C to 2.9°C if countries continue with current policies. (Climate Resource)
Around one-fifth of solar panels fail much faster than expected, UNSW researchers have found – with up to 20% of the nearly 11,000 analysed PV cells performing 1.5 times worse than the average and 8% degrading twice as quickly. Solar systems are generally designed for 25-year lifespans but the researchers found that many have useful working lives of just 11 years – losing 45% of their output capacity by the 25-year mark. (UNSW)
People
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Climate change and sustainability advisory firm Foresight Consulting Group hired the long-term head of EY’s APAC climate and sustainability practice, Terence Jeyaretnam, as its Executive Director and Chair.