Capital
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Forecasting firm Modo Energy has secured $50 million from Molten Ventures, in partnership with ETF Partners, MMC Ventures, and Fred. Olsen Limited. The finance will be used to accelerate Modo Energy’s growth and “scale its impact globally” according to Molten Ventures.
The Parliamentary Budget Office’s latest National Fiscal Outlook shows a deterioration in the state of the economy, with a return to surplus blown out beyond the scope of forward estimates. The total state net operating balance is forecast to return to surplus in 2027-28, two years later than forecast in the combined 2024-25 budgets.
 Projects
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Zenith Energy has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to supply energy to Northern Star’s Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mine in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Zenith will fund, build, own and operate 256MW of wind generation, 138MW/300MWh of battery energy storage and 138MW of solar generation using 5B’s rapid-install Maverick panels.
WA's proposed waste-to-energy facility may not be as efficient as initially predicted. An analysis of data on the project published by WA’s Environmental Authority and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency shows it will emit the equivalent of about 0.79 tonnes of CO2 (tCO2e) for each megawatt hour of electricity it generates. That more than the 0.4tCO2e/MWh by the nearby Kwinana gas-fired power station, and is only slightly less than the 0.83tCO2e/MWh produced at the Kogan Creek coal power station. (The Aus)
A battery energy storage system (BESS) proposed for construction next to a key connection point between the Victoria and South Australia grids has been waved through the federal environmental assessment process, leaving the developer Atmos Renewables now waiting on a state nod. According to planning documents, the 300MW/1200MWh Heywood BESS was only submitted to the federal regulator at the end of October. (ReNew Economy)
Policy
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The economic value that can be realised by forging effective partnerships with First Nations groups in the clean energy and manufacturing sector could be worth between $12 billion and $29 billion by 2035, according to analysis from federally-funded body Powering Australia. New models of co-ownership, equity participation, and enabling finance will be critical for the opportunity to be realised, the report says.
Sustainability Victoria, a state-government agency which advises householders and small business on energy efficiency improvements, will be wound up as a result of sweeping cuts to the Victorian public service. The organisation had recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.
Regulation
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The AEMC has clarified existing registration categories for NEM connection for stand-alone synchronous condensers (syncons). CS Energy had applied for a new category to be created for syncons, but AEMC determined that tweaking existing categories for integrated resource providers and customer registration was “the simplest feasible approach to addressing the issues raised in the rule change request”.
Technology
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Consumer energy resources uptake is projected to rise steadily to 2050, Victoria Mollard, Executive General Manager, Economics & System Security for the AMEC told the Future Grid Summit this week. AEMC modelling suggests that 45% of homes will have rooftop solar, up from around a third today; 58% of home batteries will be aggregated by a third-party; and 80% of cars on the road will be EVs, compared to 3% today. CER uptake will have a “substantial, offsetting, impact on the grid,” she said. “While electrification would generally increase electricity imports and therefore has the potential to increase grid strain if not well managed, the opposite is also true. We can use CER installations to help decrease pressures on the grid and alleviate congestion, potentially at the extreme decreasing substantially electricity imports.”
Climate
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Nature has retracted a 2024 paper that had predicted a 62% decline in economic productivity by 2100 due to climate change. After questions were raised about the study methodology, a recalculation found that economic activity would decline by ‘only’ 23%. The change was deemed "too substantial for a correction" and removed from the record. But the paper has been cited by several policy documents around the world, including the Climate Change Authority’s 2035 Targets Advice paper. (NYT) (The Aus)
Research
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Chinese researchers have tested an electrolyte for lithium-metal batteries that can prevent fires. The electrolyte utilises a chemical called LiPF6 which turns from liquid to solid at high temperatures shutting down the run-away short circuit within seconds. (Nature Energy)
Lithium mining waste could replace part of the cement used in the making of concrete, according to UK researchers. For every tonne of battery-grade lithium carbonate produced, around nine to ten tonnes of waste are created. As countries transition to EVs, home batteries and utility-scale batteries, demand for lithium is expected to triple by 2030. But using lithium mining spoil, rich in similar minerals to Portland cement, could slash emissions and reduce landfill. (The Conversation)
Random
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The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been renamed the National Laboratory of the Rockies by its parent Department of Energy. The change “embraces a broader applied energy mission,” according to NREL director Jud Virden.
