D26 Electricity Supply

Energy prices fall as solar gets hot

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 17 : 23-Oct-23

Data from the Australian Energy Market Operator shows that the amount of electricity generated by solar power reached a record 2,287 megawatts in the September quarter. AEMO has also reported that wholesale spot electricity prices across the National Electricity Market averaged $63/MWh during the quarter, which is 71 per cent lower than the previous corresponding period. Meanwhile, coal-fired power generation fell to a record low in the September quarter, after AGL shut down the Liddell power station in late April.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED

Origin Energy shareholders await sweeteners from Brookfield, EIG consortium

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: Online : 12-Oct-23

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission having approved Brookfield and EIG’s $18.7 billion bid for Origin Energy, Brookfield and EIG must now persuade 75 per cent of Origin’s shareholders to endorse the deal. Two of its major shareholders have already stated that the bid is too low, while its current share price suggest investors expect an improved offer. When Brookfield and EIG made its offer earlier in the year, its bid valued Origin at $8.85 a share, but they closed on Wednesday at $9.21.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION,[SPACE]BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED,[SPACE]EIG ACQUISITION CORPORATION,[SPACE]ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS – AUSTRALIA]

El Nino a threat to power grid

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Original article by Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 2 : 26-Sep-23

The Bureau of Meteorology’s CEO Andrew Johnson has warned that the El Nino weather pattern will present some challenges for Australia’s electricity grid during the coming summer. He says renewable energy generation will be impacted by El Nino, with expectations of more sunshine in some parts of the country and lower-than-average wind levels in others. Johnson adds that the proportion of renewables in the energy mix has increased since Australia’s last very hot summer. Tony Wood from the Grattan Institute notes that coal-fired power stations can also be heavily impacted by hot weather.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Investment in new Australian wind and solar farms stalls amid ‘raft of barriers’, report finds

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Original article by Peter Hannam
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 23-Aug-23

Data from the Clean Energy Council shows that only four proposed renewable energy projects reached financial closure during the June quarter. The four wind and solar projects will have a combined generation capacity of 348 megawatts, while their combined investment value is just $225m; this compares with a rolling 12-month average of $1.3bn. CEC CEO Kane Thornton says the lack of political leadership, planning and foresight over the last decade has resulted in significant barriers to investment in clean energy projects in Australia. He adds that these barriers make Australia less attractive at a time when there are significant clean energy investment opportunities worldwide.

CORPORATES
CLEAN ENERGY COUNCIL LIMITED

Gas not transitional but a ‘forever fuel’, Chevron exec declares

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 17 : 9-Aug-23

Chevron executive Jeff Gustavson says the US oil and gas company is investing in new energy sources such as hydrogen. However, Chevron’s president of new energies emphasises that gas will continue to play a key role in the energy mix; he contends that it is a "forever fuel" rather than a transition fuel. Gustavson has also emphasised the importance of carbon capture and storage, and says Australia needs to embrace the technology in order to meet its carbon emission reduction targets.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION

AusNet chief confident grid will be ready for coal’s exit

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Original article by Nick Toscano
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 17-Jul-23

AusNet chief development officer Jon D’Sylva says the power grid operator is optimistic that Australia can manage the transition from coal-fired power to renewable energy sources, although he concedes that there is a bit of pressure regarding the federal government’s target of 82 per cent of Australia’s power being ‘green’ by 2030. AusNet is the company behind the Western Renewables Link, which has met with a lot of opposition from local communities, and D’Sylva acknowledges that it failed to ensure an adequate level of community engagement when the project was conceived.

CORPORATES
AUSNET SERVICES LIMITED

Australia set for cheaper solar power as supply of panels soars, says report

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Original article by Peter Hannam
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 14-Jun-23

Think tank Climate Energy Finance notes that a record 268 gigawatts of solar panels was installed globally in 2022. A new report from CEF forecasts that this could reach 1,000GW per annum by 2030, given the pace of solar power uptake. The report also concludes that the cost of installing solar panels is likely to fall significantly, given the rise in production and a downturn in the cost of raw materials such as polysilicon. Renate Egan from the University of New South Wales says Australia could have a competitive advantages in parts of the solar panel supply chain.

CORPORATES
CLIMATE ENERGY FINANCE, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Grid precarious as winter looms: EnergyAustralia

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 15 & 18 : 6-Jun-23

EnergyAustralia MD Mark Collette has told a climate business summit in Sydney that there is currently less dispatchable capacity in Australia’s power system than in 2022, following the closure of the Liddell coal-fired power plant at the end of April. He says there should be better preparation for when coal-fired power stations are closed, in that there should be enough replacement capacity. Collette is the latest executive to express concern about the ability of the nation’s electricity network to manage the increased demand during winter and summer amid the transition to renewable energy sources.

CORPORATES
ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Origin to tip $600m into battery

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 21-Apr-23

Origin Energy stated in February that it will close the Eraring coal-fired power station in 2025, and that it intends to build a battery on the station. Origin has now made a final investment decision to proceed with the $600 million battery, which will have a capacity of 460MW, with the option to increase it to 700MW. At a capacity of 460MW, the battery will have a dispatch duration of two hours; this would increase to four hours at 700MW.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG

FFI bids to develop hydrogen plant in South Australia

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 15-Mar-23

Potential developers of a ‘green’ hydrogen hub in South Australia were given a deadline of Tuesday at 5pm to submit formal expressions of interest to the state government. Fortescue Future Industries is believed to have submitted a bid for the project, to which the state government will contribute $593m. A spokesman for FFI has declined to comment on whether Fortescue Metals Group’s clean energy arm lodged a bid. However, the spokesman says FFI believes that South Australia can become a leader in renewable energy production.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE FUTURE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG