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Today

Tomago is the country’s largest aluminium smelter and the single biggest user of energy.

The country’s biggest aluminium smelter says green target unreachable

Rio Tinto-backed Tomago, which uses more power than any other industrial operation in Australia, says renewable energy is too expensive and in short supply.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith

This Month

Liberty Energy chief executive Chris Wright is a staunch defender of fossil fuel use.

Trump’s new energy secretary linked to Beetaloo Basin gas project

Chris Wright’s Liberty Energy is behind the fracking fleet used for extraction from developing fields in the Northern Territory.

  • Updated
  • Matthew Cranston
NextDC CEO Craig Scroggie (r) talks to AFR technology editor Paul Smith in Sydney.

Nuclear ban holds Australia back from data centre opportunity

Craig Scroggie says without a ‘logical conversation’ on nuclear, Australia may miss an opportunity to grab an outsized chunk of the booming data centre industry.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith

October

Resources Minister Madeleine King at the Australia-Japan Joint Business Conference in Nagoya, Japan.

Luring investment in Aussie hydrogen a tough task: King

Resources Minister Madeleine King says drawing Japanese investment in Australian hydrogen projects was difficult because of existing global subsidies.

  • Updated
  • Jessica Sier
Matt Kean.

Batteries, solar and maximising the grid pushed to save 2030 target

The Albanese government will need further measures to boost the uptake of renewable energy, or miss its 2030 target, climate tsar Matt Kean has warned.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith and Phillip Coorey
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A storm-damaged Transgrid tower south of Broken Hill.

NSW to introduce 2034 target for long storage

NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe says the legislated goal will show investors the government has a long-term commitment to storage.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith and Phillip Coorey
Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen

Energy, manufacturers urge Bowen to rethink on gas

A call to include gas in the Capacity Investment Scheme has exposed divisions between the industry and Chris Bowen

  • Phillip Coorey and Angela Macdonald-Smith
Woodside’s Sangomar oil project off Senegal started production in June.

Senegal oil powers record quarter for Woodside

News of the rapid ramp-up of the new oil project came as the International Energy Agency warned about locking in fossil fuel use.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith
APA Group CEO Adam Watson in Sydney in February.

Relief rally for APA on gas pipeline decision

Energy-intensive manufacturers say the ruling still leaves them worried about supply shortages in the southern states.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith
Delta’s Vales Point coal power station in NSW supplies 4 per cent of generation in the National Electricity Market.

Cashed-up NSW coal power owner jilted by banks

Sev.en Global’s Delta has requested an urgent change to the rules for the electricity market after being unable to extend a bank guarantee because of its coal links.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith
Rooftop solar adoption has taken off.

Power prices surge as renewables output flatlines

A drop in output from solar farms and another increase in coal power output in the third quarter add evidence of the road bumps in the energy transition.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith

September

Whether nuclear power should help replace retiring coal power stations is a major topic of debate.

Dutton’s nuclear policy put to the test

Several of the fundamental arguments made by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to underpin the Coalition’s nuclear policy do not convince independent energy experts.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith
AGL CEO Damien Nicks (r), chairwoman Patricia McKenzie and chairman-elect Miles George (l) at the AGM in Melbourne today.

Cannon-Brookes’ Grok fails to back AGL board on exec pay

The decision by Mike Cannon-Brookes’ private company to abstain on the remuneration vote signals tensions over emissions reduction plans are unresolved.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith
Dutton said the cost of his nuclear plan would be released before the next election.

Coalition nuclear policy relies on coal for longer than experts expect

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has conceded that the Coalition’s nuclear policy relies on an extended use of coal power and a sharply increased role for gas power.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith and Phillip Coorey
Shell Australia chairwoman Cecile Wake says regulatory and policy settings are putting at risk investment vital to the transition.

Shell says ‘dysfunctional’ rules putting energy transition at risk

The London-listed group’s local chairwoman, Cecile Wake, says high hurdles for its gas projects are now emerging in its big renewable generation portfolio.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith
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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

Nuclear debate stalls as detail goes missing in action

The information vacuum includes the costings behind the Coalition’s nuclear vision and a realistic assessment from Labor about the problems in the way of 2030 climate targets.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Waitsia gas project in Western Australia is currently the only onshore venture in the state allowed to export gas.

WA opens narrow window for onshore gas exports

The Cook government’s revised policy may not be enough to achieve the aims of encouraging more gas exploration and development, some commentators say.

  • Tom Rabe, Angela Macdonald-Smith and Brad Thompson
German State Secretary Anja Hajduk and Minister for Climate Change Chris Bowen during a press conference at the APAC Hydrogen Summit in Brisbane on Friday.

Australia and Germany in $660m hydrogen funding initiative

Chris Bowen has rejected commentary about the death of hydrogen industry, claiming production could reach a million tonnes a year in five years.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith and James Hall
The first phase of the Golden Plains wind farm in central Victoria is in the process of starting up.

Renewables record tumbles but may be close to pause

Renewables’ share of generation hit a fresh record on Monday, but with coal plants having to run at minimum levels it may be near a temporary limit.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith
Eraring coal-fired power station faces a challenging final phase.

Origin reworks coal power stalwart for final years

The giant Eraring coal generator faces a dynamic last few years to cope with the influx of renewables as the baseload site reinvents itself.

  • Angela Macdonald-Smith

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/energy-security-hxb