RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES – AUSTRALIA

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

Solar already Australia’s largest source of electricity as rooftop capacity hits 20GW, consultancy says

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Original article by Peter Hannam
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 1-Mar-23

Solar energy consulting firm SunWiz says Australia now boasts the world’s highest penetration of rooftop solar panels, which are now installed on nearly one in every three homes nationwide. Queensland has the highest penetration of solar panels, at 82 per cent, followed by South Australia (78 per cent) and New South Wales (51 per cent). SunWiz’s data shows that rooftop solar capacity now totals 20 gigawatts nationwide. SunWiz estimates that it took about 11 years for the first 10GW of capacity to be installed, while the second 10GW took just four years. Green Energy Markets recently estimated that the next 10GW will take just over three years to be installed.

CORPORATES
SUNWIZ PTY LTD, GREEN ENERGY MARKETS PTY LTD

‘We are fooling ourselves on the timeline’: Rio CEO’s warning on solar

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Original article by Hans van Leeuwen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 19-Jan-23

Rio Tinto has committed to investing $3bn in green energy for its Pilbara iron ore mines by 2030. Amongst other things, Rio Tinto recently commissioned a 34 megawatt solar power plant for its Gudai-Darri mine. However, CEO Jakob Stausholm has told a World Economic Forum discussion panel that the development of large-scale solar power generation is challenging, even in countries such as Australia. He also addressed the issue of the recycling and re-use of steel and critical minerals, arguing that supply constraints mean that ‘circularity’ is not likely to be a major consideration in the current decade.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

Renewables break records but lag target

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 14 : 4-Jan-23

New data shows that renewable energy’s share of the National Electricity Market reached a record high of 40.4 per cent in the December quarter. In contrast, coal-fired power generation fell to a record low of 55.5 per cent during the period. However, the rate of growth for renewables slowed from 21.6 per cent in 2021 to just 16.6 per cent in 2022. Dylan McConnell from the University of NSW says this rate of growth will need to almost double in order to achieve the federal government’s renewable energy target of 82 per cent by 2030.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Nuclear energy must be part of the conversation

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Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 17 : 28-Oct-22

BHP’s chief technical officer Laura Tyler has told a business forum that Australia needs to consider adding nuclear power to the nation’s energy mix. She has highlighted the potential for nuclear energy to provide baseload power, but acknowledged that Australia is still "having the conversation" about nuclear at a political level. Meanwhile, Zen Energy chairman Raymond Spencer cautioned against government over-intervention in energy markets, in the wake of the Victorian government’s plans to directly invest in renewable energy.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, ZEN ENERGY PTY LTD

Coalition rebuffed over need for coal-fired power stations

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Apr-21

A report from the Grattan Institute has concluded that gas will play a key as Australia transitions to a net-zero emissions electricity grid. The report also cautions against shifting to complete reliance on renewables; it contends that the electricity grid can shift to 70-90 per cent renewables in the 2040s with no major impact on the affordability or reliability of the electricity system. Grattan Institute director Tony Wood adds that there is no need to build new coal-fired power stations or to refurbish existing ones to extend their operational life.

CORPORATES
GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Rapid shift to renewable energy could lead Australia to cheap power and 100,000 jobs

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Original article by Adam Morton
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 29-May-20

Climate change thinktank Beyond Zero Emissions has called for 90 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity and 20GW of batteries to be built over the next five years. It estimates this would create 124,000 construction jobs and 22,000 ongoing jobs. Beyond Zero Emissions also states there should be local content requirements for wind turbines, batteries and transmission components, saying this could create 15,000 manufacturing jobs, and that a wind energy manufacturing industry could be easily created by converting old factories.

CORPORATES
BEYOND ZERO EMISSIONS INCORPORATED

Forrest in $68m renewables play takeover

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 20 : 5-Mar-20

Squadron Energy, the private company of mining magnate Andrew Forrest, has made a takeover bid for Windlab, a listed wind farm developer and operator. Squadron has teamed up with Federation Asset Management to offer $1 per share for Windlab, valuing the bid at $68.2m. Windlab shares rallied on 4 March, closing at $0.965; investors had paid $2 per share in its 2017 IPO. Squadron is expected to have a 75 per cent stake in Windlab if the deal proceeds.

CORPORATES
WINDLAB LIMITED – ASX WND, SQUADRON ENERGY PTY LTD, FEDERATION ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Power stability critical

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Feb-20

The Energy Security Board’s latest annual report card has stated that electricity affordability improved from ‘critical’ in 2018 to ‘moderate-critical’ in 2019. This was due to a combination of falling costs and government pressure on retailers. The ESB noted that power generation from wind and solar is tipped to grow from 16 per cent of supply in 2019 to more than 40 per cent by 2030. However, it warned that the growth of wind and solar poses a threat to the stability of the national grid, with greater intervention needed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

Spending on large-scale renewable energy in Australia plunges

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Original article by Peter Hannam
The Age – Page: Online : 17-Jan-20

Bloomberg New Energy Finance research indicates investments in large-scale renewable energy projects in Australia fell by 56 per cent in 2019. The decline in renewable energy investment in Australia was at odds with trends globally, and can be attributed to a lack of long-term policy certainty at the federal level. Federal Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor says reducing the cost of storage and backup will help to ensure continued growth in new renewable investment.

CORPORATES
BLOOMBERG NEW ENERGY FINANCE,{SPAC}AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY