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Energy transition

Today

KKR takes $500m punt on solar and storage play CleanPeak Energy

The investment will give the Sydney-based outfit $1 billion of funding capacity to chase untapped markets for rooftop solar and batteries.

CEFC investments hit record $4.7b as grid bill climbs

Clean Energy Finance Corporation boss Ian Learmonth expects another record year for the green bank, depending on the big-ticket Marinus Link project.

Yesterday

Tony Schultz, managing director of North Harbour Clean Energy, and Grant King, chairman

Soul Patts invests in big battery developer North Harbour

The diversified investor will end up with about a one-third share of a long-duration energy storage play led by former KKR Australia MD Tony Schultz.

APA Group’s Kay Stuart is a highly-regarded dealmaker in corporate Australia.

APA Group executive jumps ship to Future Fund

Stuart spearheaded the listed gas pipelines owner’s acquisition of Alinta’s remote power assets in WA’s Pilbara region.

This Month

SunCable is proposing to build a massive solar farm in the Northern Territory.

Quinbrook executives quit Mike Cannon-Brookes’ SunCable board

The exit of the two representatives of the infrastructure investor comes as the huge solar project is in the middle of critical fundraising efforts.

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The Asian Renewable Energy Hub would be built in Western Australia’s east Pilbara region.

BP ditches $54b Pilbara hydrogen project

The decision makes the British energy major the latest company to walk away from plans for green hydrogen production in Australia.

David Fair is making EY’s green dreams come trye, alongside four other partners.

Make way for EY’s energy transition team amid deal frenzy

In their final 12 months at PwC, the four dealmakers, who came to EY as partners, notched up several deals of note.

Electrical workers say approval delays for renewables projects are a major drag on productivity.

Grid bottlenecks pushing workers into ‘valley of death’

Electrical workers say clearer planning approvals for energy projects are needed to reverse skills shortages and boost productivity.

Assessment and approval times have blown out for wind farms and solar farms.

Climate action is a productivity challenge for Chalmers’ roundtable

An economy-wide carbon tax, which would encourage the private sector to invest in the cheapest ways to reach our climate targets, should be on the agenda at the summit.

Our oceans are in crisis as a toxic algal bloom devastates commercial fisheries, tourism operators and oyster farmers in South Australia, while Queensland’s tour operators and fisheries also grapple with successive bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef.

No better time than now to set stronger net-zero targets

It’s time to lead with conviction. Targets work; strong targets even better. Cutting climate pollution is not only essential, but also an economic opportunity.

Our electricity cost advantage has been utterly squandered. Even Japan, which is forced to import virtually all its energy needs (mostly from Australia) has lower electricity prices ($US0.22) than Australia.

Why net zero targets are impoverishing our nation

If we stick with them, our economy will weaken, living standards will suffer and the electricity price advantage we once enjoyed will be even more of a distant memory.

Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said the deal offers future opportunities for further partnerships with Aramco.

Woodside takes $214m hit after ditching major US hydrogen project

The oil and gas producer also said it’s still negotiating with the government on the approval for the 40-year extension of the North West Shelf venture.

New wind farm projects have slowed due to soaring costs.

Clean energy rebound masks wind ‘disaster’

Clean energy capacity added into the grid doubled last year, but analysts say the figures mask stalled wind-farm construction amid soaring costs.

Former 2GB radio presenter Chris O’Keefe is part of a new look Clean Energy Council. 

Gas is in as renewables industry adopts new playbook

In a detailed letter to its members, the Clean Energy Council says it must be realistic about gas and work harder to secure support for regional wind and solar projects.

Australia’s generational housing shortage and affordability crisis has been exacerbated by thickets of regulation, delays and long approval times, a lack of medium-density apartments and townhouses in the suburbs near city centres, as well as overzealous local governments and NIMBY agitators.

Chalmers should heed Hawke on red tape

The challenge for the treasurer at his Economic Reform Roundtable will be to ensure the good ideas do not get lost in translation.

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Angela Karl, a former UBS banker specialising in energy and utilities deals, landed at HMC this year after an 11-year stint at QIC. The market reckons her next stop is the Future Fund.

High-profile dealmaker’s departure leaves door open at Future Fund

Peter McCosker has relocated back to Abu Dhabi, replacing Marcus Hill, who was head of transportation in ADIA’s infrastructure division.

Slow rollout of poles and wire projects set to limit the power of renewables projects.

Solar farms forced to ‘switch off’ due to energy grid logjam

Delays to critical poles and wire projects will force some solar farms to shed more than two-thirds of the power they produce.

The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column on Sunday revealed the discussions between Santos and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, known as Adnoc.

Everything you need to know about Santos’ deep-pocketed suitor

As shareholders wait to see if Treasurer Jim Chalmers will bless the $36 billion takeover, here’s all you need to know about the lead player, XRG.

Explorers drill for copper near Cobar.

Copper is soaring. So why is this Australian mine going cheap?

The high price of the metal is giving Australian miners a boost. Yet one top copper asset remains undervalued, according to investors and analysts.

The Yadnarie project will involve 150 fields of sun-tracking mirrors plus a water-based storage system.

AGL raises bet on after-dark solar with SA acquisition

The innovative project to be built on the Eyre Peninsula will make solar power available after the sun sets, but will require government support.

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