Today
Green hydrogen too ‘expensive and inefficient’: Finkel
Former chief scientist Alan Finkel – who devised Australia’s first clean hydrogen strategy – now says we are “unlikely to use hydrogen for storage of electricity”.
- 41 mins ago
- Angela Macdonald-Smith, Peter Ker and Jessica Sier
Don’t restart energy wars, business and green groups warn
A coalition of business and environment groups has urged governments to provide credible and consistent energy policy.
- Tom McIlroy
Yesterday
Fortescue’s pivot shakes faith in Labor’s Hydrogen Headstart strategy
Power prices would need to drop steeply and electrolyser costs more than halve to produce hydrogen at anywhere near a competitive level, the industry has warned.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
Nuclear awakening ‘a decade or two late’, says AER
Clare Savage said it would take 25 years to put the political and regulatory frameworks in place for nuclear power – much longer than the Coalition says.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
Azure, Natixis shop Brookfield-owned X-Elio’s Blue Grass solar project
Street Talk understands the Spanish renewable developer, a 100 per cent Brookfield-owned company, is seeking to part with its interest in the 200 megawatt-peak solar farm and battery project.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
This Month
Genex to depart ASX after investors back J-Power takeover
Shareholder approval of the deal, worth more than $1 billion including debt, was in little doubt after 19.9 per cent investor Skip Capital revealed it would back it.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
AGL, Squadron CEOs warn of pitfalls in flagship clean energy policy
The Capacity Investment Scheme could end up supporting poor projects that only won contracts because they bid at a cheap price and which will never be built, a clean energy summit heard.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
AEMO chief warns no chance of nuclear replacing ageing coal plants
Daniel Westerman, who runs the energy market operator, said gas generation would remain the “ultimate backstop” as fossil fuels exit the electricity grid.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
ICA Partners shops stake in EnergyAustralia’s Wooreen battery project
EnergyAustralia has put a 50 per cent equity stake in its “shovel-ready” Wooreen battery energy storage system project on the table and tapped ICA Partners to drum up interest.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
- Exclusive
- Mergers & acquisitions
Farquhar’s Skip Capital will back J-Power’s takeover of Genex
The Atlassian billionaire’s fund owns 19.9 per cent of the ASX-listed renewable energy group. Its support removes a major roadblock for the Japanese utility.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
Labor’s green hydrogen rules for $6.7b subsidy splits producers
Criteria being proposed for renewable hydrogen could mean emissions rise instead of fall as projects “cannibalise” the grid, green advocates warn.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
Snowy Hydro pushes gas power ambitions with major storage deal
The 25-year contract will underpin the expansion of the Iona project, and underscores expectations the fuel will remain part of the energy mix past 2050.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
- Exclusive
- Mergers & acquisitions
Brookfield to sell Neoen assets in Vic to seal ACCC tick
The Canadian giant is in early talks to sell the 2.8-gigawatt portfolio of proposed wind and storage projects even ahead of the result of the ACCC inquiry.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
Greek giant Metlen shops Aussie renewables portfolio; taps MacCap
In Australia, it has eight solar assets in operation or development and 2.9 gigawatts of “near-medium-term” opportunities, according to marketing documents.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Proxy advisers back J-Power’s Genex bid; eyes on Skip
Sources said ISS and Glass Lewis had both issued positive recommendations, telling their clients to vote in favour of J-Power’s “significant premium” 27.5¢ per share all-cash bid.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
- Exclusive
- Investment banking
Jarden pitches a new service for big emitters: carbon trading
The investment bank’s new carbon trading platform will complement an energy transition advisory team led by Matt Kean’s former chief of staff.
- Aaron Weinman
- Exclusive
- Construction
Downer EDI pitches in on flailing EnergyConnect construction
The troubles at the cable project are being closely watched because its failure would imperil the entire build-out of the transmission grid, sources say.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith and Jenny Wiggins
Blackstone eyes investment in rival to Transgrid’s unregulated biz
Multiple sources said Blackstone has pulled ahead of rival bidders, including HMC Capital’s Julia Gillard-chaired Energy Transition Fund, to tip into Symphony.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
- Opinion
- Energy transition
It’s an energy race between the implausible and the impossible
Peter Dutton has come up with a nuclear-powered cost of living wedge to expose Labor’s overreach on renewables and sustainability.
- Matthew Warren
Queensland breaks ground on $5b transmission project
The CopperString project will eventually link the mining region of Mount Isa with the port city of Townsville via an 840-kilometre high-transmission line.
- Tess Bennett
