This week saw the closure timeline for Queensland’s largest coal-fired power station brought forward, and the life of a South Australian gas fired power station extended, as quarterly grid data showed the transition was still a story of one step forward, two steps back.

Capital

​

Workers at the Gladstone Power Station were notified that Queensland's largest and oldest coal-fired power station would likely close in March 2029, six years earlier than planned. Co-owners Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) said the timeline aligned with the expiry of existing supply and operational arrangements.

The South Australian Government locked in a deal with AGL to extend the life of the Torrens Island B gas fired power station to June 2028, for an undisclosed sum. The government blamed delays to the Project Energy Connect interconnector on the NSW side of the border.

This week also saw transmission network Transgrid launch Australia’s largest tender for grid-forming batteries. It wants proposals for one gigawatt of stabilising services that would kick off in the second half of next year.

In other investment news, innovators in the over-the-counter market questioned whether the NEM review should be looking to the ASX for potential new contracts to support clean energy investment.

And the US Government cancelled another US$7.56 billion in clean energy projects, mainly in Democrat-led states. It did so as data showed records continued to be broken in energy storage and solar investment.

Closer to home, the Clean Energy Regulator said it had validated more than 40,000 battery installations through to mid-September, under the government’s cheaper home batteries program. It said almost half were using the opportunity to connect their new battery to a replacement, addition or extension of their solar PV system.

Meanwhile, September quarter data landed for the National Electricity Market and Western Australia’s South West Interconnected System. It showed increased wind and solar generation just met increased demand, rather than displacing coal and gas.

Climate

​

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen met with Pacific climate ministers as Australia’s bid to host next year's COP climate summit in partnership with the Pacific remained in question.

The idea of splitting the hosting between rival bidder Türkiye and Australia grabbed headlines this week, but Dean Bialek, former climate diplomat and founder of The Pacific Project, told The Energy’s COP Drop webinar that this would set a dangerous precedent.

And half of global greenhouse gas emissions are now covered by a 2035 climate pledge according to Carbon Brief analysis in the wake of last week’s UN summit.

Policy

​

Returning from a study tour of nuclear facilities in the US, Shadow Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Dan Tehan told ABC Radio National there was “overwhelming agreement on the Coalition side that nuclear needs to be part of our energy mix”.

Victorian commercial and industrial (C&I) enterprises can tap incentives of up to $34,000 to install 30kW to 200kW solar systems thanks to a new rule, known as ‘Activity 47’, under the Victorian Energy Upgrades program.

Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner and former National Farmers’ Federation CEO Tony Mahar told a hearing of the Senate Select Committee delving into the prevalence and impacts of misinformation and disinformation related to climate change and energy that he sees a role for his office in being an "independent, trusted source of information” on the energy transition. The Commissioner is planning to provide “policy positions” on issues including decommissioning, fire risk, taxation and insurance, all of which have been issues community members have raised with him during in-person meetings.

Regulation

​

The Australian Energy Regulator handed down draft revenue determinations for electricity distribution network service providers in Victoria for 2026-31, saying it was not satisfied that the proposed expenditure was “prudent and efficient”. Knock-backs ranged from 13.1% less than proposed for Jemena to 5.4% less than proposed for CitiPower.

Victoria’s Essential Services Commission is making changes to the Energy Retail Code of Practice to protect the most vulnerable consumers. Rolling out over the next 12 months, retailers will be required to move struggling customers onto their cheapest plan, ensure long-term customers are paying a reasonable price, and have effective processes available for customers to switch to their best offer, among other changes.

Projects

​

EnergyCo narrowed the transmission lines study corridor for the New England Renewable Energy Zone “to reflect community feedback”. It said the new corridor allowed for safer construction, reduced clearing of vegetation, less impact on local roads and would also mean transmission lines did not affect aerial firefighting operations around local dams.

Neoen’s Collie Battery 2 started delivering a 300MW grid capacity service contract to AEMO. Combined with Collie 1 (219MW), the pair are Australia’s largest battery in operation and the first to exceed 2GWh of storage capacity. The company has also commenced work on its 164MW Muchea Battery in Western Australia.

Looking ahead to next week, Environment Minister Murray Watt will appear at Senate Estimates and The Energy will be covering the NEM development conference in Brisbane.