Projects

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Fortescue (ASX: FMG) has halved the size of its proposed Bonney Downs wind farm, cutting the number of wind turbines from 200 to 100 in a move it says will reduce the project’s environmental footprint. The wind farm will now require the clearing of just 944ha of vegetation on the nearly 90,000ha development envelope, down from 2,000 in early estimates. Writing in an environmental approval application, Fortescue said it considered converting the Solomon power station to run on green ammonia/hydrogen but ruled it out as it “is not economically viable”. (AFR)

Japanese and Korean customers, however, have shown enough interest in green ammonia offtake to support phase 1 of InterContinental Energy’s Western Green Energy Hub, which will deliver at least 1.4Mtpa of green ammonia offtake when it comes online in 2033 and up to 28Mtpa when it reaches full production capacity in 2050. That level of interest, InterContinental Energy CEO Alexander Tancock said, “reflects maturing confidence in the green hydrogen sector in Australia… [and] validates the alignment between Australia’s long-term vision and that of its strategic trading partners”. (ESD News)

Construction has commenced on the 1.8GW Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), with 590 construction jobs expected to be created as work ramps up to complete 85km of sub-transmission lines, 18km of underground fibre optic communications cable, new energy hubs at Sandy Creek and Antiene, and upgrades to existing substations. The project is the first REZ project to upgrade existing distribution poles and wires instead of building all new transmission lines.

Regulation

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The AEMC has published a joint consultation paper to explore three rule change requests submitted by the AEMO. The requests relate to consultation requirements for metrology procedures, flexible communication requirement for SAPS generation connection points, and refining the eligibility requirements for secondary settlement points. Submissions close on March 26.

Policy

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LNG projects in the Northern Territory will be subject to the federal government’s domestic gas reservation scheme, an Industry Department official has confirmed for the first time after questions were asked about the policy’s impact on developments like Japanese oil giant Inpex’s Ichthys $64 billion (US$45 billion) LNG project. The terminal was reportedly sited in Darwin, and connected to the WA gas field with a 900km pipeline, on the understanding that such rules wouldn’t apply in the NT. (AFR)

Data news

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Australian consumption of automotive gasoline dropped markedly with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and has not recovered six years later, DCCEEW’s latest Petroleum Production Report has confirmed, with consumption dropping from 17,348.5 million litres in 2019 to 15,134.3ML in 2020 – rising just 4.5% last year, to 15,817.6ML, despite 2025 marking record vehicle sales. Production of crude oil and condensate are also down significantly, declining by 54.7% and 18% over the same period.

Climate

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“Deep, sustained reductions in transport emissions are required well before 2035 to avoid locking in high cumulative emissions,” the Climate Council has argued in its submission to the government’s review of the Electric Car Discount. Citing the Climate Change Authority’s own advice on the importance of rapid electrification “across the economy”, the Climate Council notes that increasing EV adoption is essential not only for reducing emissions, but also promises benefits for grid stability by functioning as flexible load and, over time, distributed storage through vehicle to grid (V2G) technologies. These benefits, it argues, necessitate the strengthening of the Electric Car Discount “as a core climate policy instrument.”

People

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Corporate and commercial legal firm Hamilton Locke has appointed long-term executive Brit Ibanez as managing partner. Ibanez most recently served as deputy managing partner alongside Nick Humphrey, who has been promoted to executive chairman.

Random

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He was a peer of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla and is credited with making critical discoveries about the behaviour of magnetism, but Charles Protus Steinmetz is also being recognised for an entirely different obsession: his belief that electric, rather than petrol, vehicles were the future of transportation. Steinmetz, who loved driving his 1914 Detroit Electric sedan around his hometown, typed out an EV manifesto in 1920, highlighting their low maintenance, reliability, simplicity of operation, and lower cost – while acknowledging their limited range, slower speeds, and dependence on charging stations. (IEEE)