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Energy transition

Yesterday

Data centres require huge amounts of water to cool their computer systems.

40m litres a day: water utilities’ data centre warning

Businesses say minimum efficiency standards are needed to manage the demands of the booming artificial intelligence industry.

This Month

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra on October 8, 2025.

Alinta’s Singaporean suitor ready to sign on the dotted line

Singapore-listed energy player Sembcorp is expected to sign a deal to buy Australia’s fourth-largest utility company as early as this week.

Rio Tinto flagged plans to go fishing in the land of private markets for some of its decarbonisation capital expenditure.

Private capital’s next act? Bankrolling listed company capex

Should a company pay for expansion plans with shareholders’ money, or someone else’s? This is the next chapter in the public versus private markets debate.

Giant wind turbines could be installed offshore from popular coastal spots in NSW and Victoria.

Offshore wind in free fall as AGL abandons Victorian project

Energy giant AGL has walked away from its massive proposed offshore wind project in Victoria in a fresh blow for the state’s plans to get off coal.

The Chevron-led Gorgon LNG plant on Barrow Island off Western Australia ships LNG to across Asia.

Chevron, Gorgon partners give green light for $3b gas investment

The project will involve the development of two new offshore gas fields, the first major investment in the Gorgon LNG venture for more than four years.

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A graphic depicting the difficulties of accessing crypto from a will: a hammer attempting to break a block of ice with Bitcoin inside.

It’s evident which way bitcoin is headed

Readers’ letters on the bitcoin craze, investor diligence, psychological injury claims, the Nats’ views on renewables ‘costs’, and solutions to the energy crisis.

The government has so far refused to give TikTok approval to build data centres in Australia.

AI data centres could be Australia’s next sovereignty test

While Australia should be cautious about the challenges the data centre boom poses, we are well positioned to become a trusted AI-ready data hub in the Asia-Pacific region.

Instead of becoming locked on to renewables, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and the Netherlands are reinforcing nuclear, securing gas, and strengthening firming capacity.

Australia toys with its own ‘Why Nations Fail’ moment on energy

It’s dangerous when institutions are captured by their own storyline. Faith in renewables has become an identity, and that’s a lot harder to tweak than policy.

Electricity prices contributed to a surge in overall prices as energy rebates came to an end.

Renewables go-slow shatters hopes for lower power prices

Households are likely to face higher power bills over the next 10 years because the pace of the clean energy build-out is too slow.

MG Motor MG4 electric vehicles in a parking lot at a vehicle terminal in Port Kembla.

Range anxiety is real: Popular EVs don’t perform as advertised

Real-world testing of EVs found none of the nine models surveyed in 2025 could travel as far as they claimed on a single battery charge.

Wind power must quadruple to meet the government’s 2035 climate target.

Sorry Climate 200, but our net zero plan looks like a bungled surgery

Every major smelter or refinery in the country is now either subsidised, curtailed or under review, putting over 73,000 jobs at risk.

Victoria could face electricity shortfalls in the immediate aftermath of Yallourn’s closure.

‘Almost certain’ transition chaos in Victoria a warning for states

The Victorian government has not properly managed the risks of closing the state’s Yallourn coal power station in 2028, according to a new audit report.

Origin owns Eraring power station.

Extending Eraring coal power a ‘good thing’ for NSW, says Minns

The state could face blackouts without a deal, but Climate Change Authority chairman Matt Kean warns that an extension might crowd out renewables investment

Data centre construction will be a major drag on the Albanese government’s climate goals.

Data centres put brakes on Labor’s emissions goals

Explosive data centre power demand proposals have forced the Albanese government to downgrade its electricity sector emissions reduction forecasts.

The Brigalow gas plant will be built on the same site as CS Energy’s Kogan Creek coal power station.

APA revs up gas power ambitions with $1b commitment

A new Queensland venture with a state-owned generator could be a model for the pipeline owner’s further investments in gas-based electricity, its CEO says.

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NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe is keeping a close eye on developments at the Eraring generator on the NSW Central Coast.

AEMO warns of NSW blackouts if Eraring closes in 2027

Huge spinning machines needed to keep the state’s power grid stable when Eraring closes won’t arrive until after the generator’s 2027 shutdown date.

November

Korea is a major investor in Australian LNG, iron ore and coal.

Korea Inc demands urgent review of clean energy policy settings

Steelmaker POSCO, Korea Gas, and LG Energy are among several major South Korean industrials calling for more investment-friendly policies from Canberra.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, Nationals leader David Littleproud and energy and emissions reduction spokesman Dan Tehan (centre) release the Coalition’s energy policy.

Coal and confusion are the only policies Coalition understands

The policy to ditch credible climate action is built on a pile of lies and would drive up energy costs while reducing energy security.

An aerial view of wind turbines in Port Augusta, South Australia.

Snowy Hydro inks deals to drive renewables expansion

Contracts to buy wind power and battery capacity should move two major projects in South Australia and Victoria closer to construction.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he would decide whether to extend the electricity bill rebates in the coming weeks.

Labor’s dilemma: Inflation fight or cost-of-living relief

Economists say $6.8 billion in energy bill rebates introduced at the height of the cost-of-living crisis should be stopped or means tested.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/energy-transition-1ni0