Capital
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Fortescue Group (ASX: FMG) confirmed in a Q2 update that its Gladstone and Arizona hydrogen projects will not go ahead, blaming the Trump administration for the latter decision. (The Australian) (The West)
“I want to make it clear we are not giving up. Green energy and green hydrogen is key to our future, including our green metal strategy. Technology is improving at rapid speed. The cost will come down and the market will come, but we must also be realistic and disciplined. So, we'll reassess and evaluate the future and timeliness of our global projects to ensure that they are economic and will deliver value to our shareholders.”
Fortescue Growth and Energy CEO Gus Pichot
Fortescue is still building one of the three clean energy projects approved by the board in November 2023; a $US50 million green iron plant at its Christmas Creek mine in the Pilbara. The green iron plant is supposed to deliver first production before the end of 2025. (AFR)
Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki said it would be a “national disgrace” if the federal government and major employer Glencore could not work out a way to keep Mt Isa’s copper smelter and refinery open. (AAP)
 Projects
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The Australian Renewable Energy Agency allocated $44.9 million to Calix to build a demonstration plant using its Zero Emissions Steel Technology (ZESTY). Growing the supply chain for green iron and hydrogen, the plant will aim to produce up to 30,000 tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen direct reduced iron and hot briquetted iron a year.
“As the world’s largest producer and exporter of iron ore, Australia has a critical role in reducing emissions across the steel value chain.”
ARENA CEO Darren Miller
One of the largest open-cut coal projects in NSW suffered a blow, after an Upper Hunter community group successfully appealed the Mt Pleasant project on climate grounds. The Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group argued the Independent Planning Decision failed to consider the downstream emissions of Indonesian company MACH Energy’s coal mine expansion when it was approved in 2022. Thursday’s decision came after the Land and Environment Court in 2024 upheld the approval for the 444Mt project by NSW’s Independent Planning Commission.
“Today’s decision of the NSW Court of Appeal is truly groundbreaking, and will fundamentally change the way proposals for new and expanded fossil fuel projects are assessed in NSW. The NSW Government has consistently said that when deciding on new and expanded fossil fuel projects, the Independent Planning Commission does not need to consider climate harm arising from emissions, including exported (Scope 3) emissions. The NSW Court of Appeal has just confirmed that the local impacts of climate change on communities are a direct consequence of continued fossil fuel production in NSW. From today, climate harm must be specifically considered when deciding proposals for fossil fuel expansions.”
Environmental Lawyer and Johnson Legal Director Elaine Johnson
Chevron’s $2.3 billion-plus decommissioning on Barrow Island, WA, will be part-funded by the federal and state governments — returning about half the royalties paid over six decades. A Chevron spokesman said some costs would be refunded, it and its partners, Santos (ASX: STO) and ExxonMobil, would bear the vast majority of the total cost. (Boiling Cold)
BP has walked away from a $54 billion solar and hydrogen project in the Pilbara, in a new setback for hydrogen in Australia. “This decision reflects BP’s recent strategy reset, which will see BP grow its upstream oil and gas business, focus its downstream business, and invest with increasing discipline into the transition,” a BP Australia spokeswoman said.(AFR)
Policy
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The UK government will appoint a Flexibility Commissioner to support a new roadmap for a “more flexible electricity system”, including the use of tariffs and technologies to allow people to shift energy usage to times when it is cheaper. For example, EV drivers will get discounts on their electricity when using public chargers at off-peak times, which will require suppliers to make information on smart tariffs easier to understand. Supporting more people to use electricity at off-peak times and boosting the efficiency and resilience of the electricity network was estimated at saving up to £70 billion in on system costs by 2050.
“Now, we must place British homes and businesses at the heart of the system; paying them to flex, not paying gas plants to bail us out. That’s how we lower bills, ditch fossil fuel dependency and make clean power by 2030 real.”
Sarah Honan, Head of Policy at ADE: Demand
Meanwhile a group of industry bodies and independent retailers are pushing for an energy market overhaul in New Zealand, saying the sector is “broken” and “driving up the cost of living”. (The Conversation)
US Republicans are moving forward with a plan to withdraw funding from the International Energy Agency, saying the organisation has become overly political. A bill approved by a key House committee on Wednesday would shut off US funding for the Paris-based organisation, which receives about $6 million annually, or about 14% of its budget, from Washington. (Bloomberg)
Regulation
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The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) published the Engineering Roadmap FY2026 Priority Actions report, committing to priority actions across National Electricity Market and WAs South-West Interconnected System to support higher renewables, including:
- Transition point planning analysis for coal retirement, periods of high distributed PV generation, and conditions where the system is operating with up to 100% renewables
- Getting to grips with future technology capabilities, including analysis of fault current contributions from grid-forming battery energy storage systems
- Reviewing market settings in the wholesale energy market for operational storage requirements, dynamic load contingency limits, and Rate of Change of Frequency limits, referring to a measure of how quickly the frequency of an electrical grid is changing.
Two technical reports were released with the roadmap: a Technical Review of the NEM Frequency Control Landscape, and an Analysis of Sub-synchronous Oscillations in the West Murray Zone Power System in Australia.
AEMO said it was also testing a new “frequency scanning” method to help wind, solar and battery projects connect to the electricity grid, with trials showing fewer technical and project schedule risks.
Climate
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Claiming farmers are being “steamrolled by governments into meeting the net zero demands of inner-city elites and the political class”, the Institute of Public Affairs teamed up with Sky News to launch Faces of Net Zero, featuring selected farming families near the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West transmission project in Victoria’s Wimmera and Mallee regions.
The EU and China have released a joint statement on climate. In it, the two “agree to demonstrate leadership together to drive a global just transition” and promote “ambitious, equitable, balanced and inclusive outcomes” at COP30. While statement did not contain any concrete new commitments, climate policy experts welcomed it as reinforcing their willingness to cooperate in the face of the United States quitting international climate action under Donald Trump. (NYT) (Carbon Brief)
People
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The Clean Energy Council appointed William Churchill as Chief Policy and Impact Officer. He replaces long-serving Arron Wood, who was recently appointed CEO of Yurringa Energy. Churchill joins the industry body from ACCIONA Energia where he was most recently General Manager, Corporate Affairs.
“Between now and 2030 is a critical period for the sector and the board is committed to ensuring we focus on the delivery of the energy transition and positioning the organisation to meet the needs of its members.”
Clean Energy Council Chair Ross Rolfe
Research
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A UNSW-led clean fuel project will scale up with new funding of more than $4 million. A $1.2 million grant from the federal Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy program was boosted by industry partners, with the aim of achieving a critical breakthrough in the reduction of emissions in aviation. A spin-out company, Gurung Fuel, has been created to lead commercialisation and raise capital. The research project is also a strategic opportunity for Australia, which is currently holding only 48 days worth of fuel reserves — far below the 90 days expected under international standards.
Random
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ENGIE ANZ will power the Greater Western Sydney Giants through the first AFL GreenPower Game in NSW in Friday’s hometown derby with the Sydney Swans.
“All the electricity used at ENGIE Stadium on the day of the game – from floodlights to sirens and scoreboards – will be matched with investment in renewable energy assets that feed renewable power into the grid.”
ENGIE ANZ Executive General Manager - Retail, Andrea Bernard
