Capital
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BlackRock and Singapore-based Keppel are reportedly teaming up to buy the Plus ES smart meters business of Ausgrid, with BlackRock’s GIP infrastructure business set to expand an energy-heavy portfolio that includes shares in Sydney Airport, the Curtis Island GLNG plant near Gladstone, and other sites. The pair join an increasingly crowded field expected to compete for the smart meters business, which is expected to sell for around $2.5 billion.
Queensland small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with an interest in developing circular economy businesses are being invited to apply for a free eight-week R&D training program co-sponsored by CSIRO. Open to SMEs developing or supplying solutions in energy, solar, wind turbines, batteries and seven other industries, the Innovate to Grow: Circular Economy and Sustainability program offers what CSIRO SME Connect director George Feast called “structured support and connections to turn ideas into a clear R&D plan, backed by the expertise to act on it.”
Policy
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US president Donald Trump and Iranian leaders have issued conflicting statements about reaching a deal to prevent the destruction of Iranian energy infrastructure, as the 48-hour deadline for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz ticks down to later this morning. Whatever the outcome, observers warn that Australian politics is rapidly becoming all about gas, with markets about to drop off a looming ‘supply cliff edge’ as the final shipments of LNG from Persian Gulf area countries approach Australian ports.
Australia could face an economic disaster from continued fuel supply disruptions, according to a tabletop exercise that was run last year and warned of the “fragility” of Australia’s critical infrastructure. The final report on ‘Exercise Convergence’ – which was conducted last year by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) with the involvement of 314 government agencies, industry partners and not-for-profits – was finalised only months ago and obtained by the ABC, which highlighted warnings that a limited fuel supply would trigger “severe economic impact”.
Years of dwindling domestic oil production have left Australia with a limited set of potential solutions to the current energy crisis, a new IEEFA analysis has warned, urging the country to take “rapid, low-impact steps to reduce oil demand” and recommending the government explore “bilateral crisis supply agreements with suppliers affected by LNG shortages”. The warning and recommendations come as the Australian government announced that it is working closely with the Singapore government to accelerate negotiations on an arrangement in trade in essential supplies as well as considering legally binding bilateral arrangements. The IEEFA also advises that Australia pursue its electrification agenda – a point that the Energy Efficiency Council reiterated, with CEO Luke Menzel arguing that efficient electricity reduces running costs and insulates Australian households and business from future economic shocks.
One Nation, who polled ahead of the Liberal Party in South Australia's election on the weekend has outlined an energy policy that focuses on coal and nuclear. Party leader Pauline Hanson said the federal Department of Climate Change needed to be axed and wind and solar farms had “destroyed the nation”. “Yes, have your solar, wind, but not on agricultural land or any land actually,” Senator Hanson said. “You can put it on housing by all means. Get rid of the wind turbines." (The Australian)
 Projects
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DCCEEW is inviting comment on an application by Ampyr Australia Pty Ltd to build the Swallow Tail BESS, a 375MW/1500MWh grid forming system that also includes 1.5km of 330kV transmission lines, on a 144.15 hectare project area in Bannaby, NSW. Comment is open until April 8.
The escalating fuel crisis has driven Queensland Cane Agriculture and Renewables and Energy Estate to fast-track BioNQ, a new biofuel facility at Abbot Point, Queensland that will use sugarcane, sorghum, and agricultural residues to produce sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and green methanol.
After days of speculation, the US Government officially reached a nearly US$1 billion agreement with French energy giant TotalEnergies to cancel its offshore wind leases off the coasts of New York and North Carolina. TotalEnergies committed to invest the value of those leases into oil and natural gas production in the United States, after which the United States will reimburse the company dollar-for-dollar for the amount they paid for the offshore wind leases. (Politico)
Regulation
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Utility companies will need to ramp up their support processes for financial hardship customers, based on the results of a new ACOSS survey of 2,070 people that found 77% are struggling to pay their energy bills – up from 64% last year. This, despite reports of broad efforts to cut back on energy usage, with three-quarters saying they use lights less, 64% showering less, 52% reducing their cooking and 26% turning off appliances such as the refrigerator to reduce power consumption. Fully 51% said they go without food, medicine or other essentials to cope, while 48% said they had sought assistance from their energy retailers.
Climate
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The World Meteorological Organization has confirmed 2025 was the second or third hottest year on record, and the decade period from 2015 to 2025 as the hottest 11 years ever. This year’s WMO State of the Global Climate report also measures Earth’s ‘energy imbalance’ – how much extra heat is trapped on Earth – for the first time and found this was at an all-time high in 2025. The addition of energy imbalance as a key indicator is particularly significant said UTS Centre for Climate Risk and Resilience director Martina Linnenluecke, noting that “a critical point is that this is not a temporary shock.”
After years of public commitment to decarbonisation, resources giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) has broken up its internal decarbonisation business as part of reorganisation initiated by new chief executive Simon Trott – who, reports say, has cut the company’s decarbonisation budget by up to 86% as it decentralises responsibility for cutting carbon.
People
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Data centre and energy developer Celero Infrastructure has appointed Matt Mumme as chief financial officer. Mumme has nearly 20 years’ experience in the Australian energy and renewables sector, most recently as interim executive general manager of Markets & Operations at Tilt Renewables.
