Category Archives: Energy

Biden to cancel oil and gas leases in Alaska issued by Trump administration

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Seven oil and gas leases canceled by interior department, which said sale during final days of Trump administration were flawed

The US interior department has canceled seven oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic national wildlife refuge that were part of a sale held in the waning days of the Trump administration, arguing the sale was legally flawed.

The interior secretary, Deb Haaland, said with her decision to cancel the remaining leases “no one will have rights to drill for oil in one of the most sensitive landscapes on earth”. However, a 2017 law mandates another lease sale by late 2024. Administration officials said they intend to comply with the law.

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NSW to enter talks to extend life of Eraring, Australia’s largest coal-fired power station

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Opponents call on Minns government to use the funds it would pay Origin to instead hasten rollout of rooftop solar and batteries

The Minns government will “engage” with the owner of Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station for a “temporary” extension of its operating life, prioritising short-term energy security over emissions reductions.

A final cost and length of extending operations of the 2,880-megawatt Eraring power plant near Newcastle would hinge on negotiations with owner Origin Energy, the government said on Tuesday.

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African leaders at odds over climate plans as crucial Nairobi summit opens

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Oil-producing African nations argue they should be able to use fossil fuel resources for economic growth

African leaders and campaigners are at odds over the way forward for the continent as a critical climate summit begins in Nairobi.

Some countries, such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa, have been expanding their renewable energy access and leading transition efforts on the continent, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

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Fracking projects in NT risk exposing people to cancer and birth defects, report finds

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Recent studies from the US have seen evidence for health harms from oil and gas projects grow ‘substantially stronger’, experts say

Fracking projects fast-tracked by the Australian government risk exposing people to cancer, birth defects, asthma, cardiovascular disease and other harms, a new report published on Monday has found.

The report, led by the University of Sydney, was written in response to paediatricians in the Northern Territory who are deeply concerned about a full-scale fracking industry in the Beetaloo Basin. Guardian Australia’s exclusive investigation revealed the proposed Middle Arm industrial development on Darwin harbour would enable the export of gas from the basin, despite the project being labelled a “sustainable development precinct”.

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Geelong Football Club chasing tens of thousands in unpaid debt from Britishvolt buyer

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Money owed by Recharge Industries to the Geelong Cats include unpaid hospitality packages that typically involve premium match-day seating

The Geelong Football Club is chasing Recharge Industries, the company that pledged to resurrect UK’s battery-making ambitions through the purchase of Britishvolt, for tens of thousands of dollars worth of unpaid corporate membership fees.

The unpaid debt adds to the mounting financial stress on the Australian-born firm that received high praise from the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, and the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, just months ago, but now owes employees significant wages in the US, UK and Australia.

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Hot El Niño summer brings ‘elevated’ risk of power blackouts to eastern Australia, operator warns

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Australian Energy Market Operator says ‘imminent and urgent investment’ in energy is needed

Eastern Australia requires “imminent and urgent investment” in energy to bolster the reliability of the electricity grid, the Australian Energy Market Operator says, as it warns of the risk of outages in Victoria and South Australia this summer.

The challenges are detailed in an Aemo report, released on Thursday, which says the grid may come under strain even with 3.4 gigawatts of new generation and storage capacity added to the national electricity market compared with last summer.

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Ørsted shares fall 25% after it reveals troubles in US business

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Almost £7bn wiped off value of world’s largest offshore wind company over possible £1.8bn write-down

Shares in the world’s largest offshore wind company have tumbled by nearly a quarter after it said it may have to write down the value of its US portfolio by nearly £2bn.

Ørsted said it had been hit by a flurry of setbacks in its American business, triggering a rapid sell-off in its shares, listed in Copenhagen.

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EU imports of Russian liquified gas leap by 40% since Ukraine invasion

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Pipeline flows from Russia have fallen to historic lows, but shipments of LNG from all over the world have surged

EU imports of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) have increased by 40% since the invasion of Ukraine despite efforts to cut down supplies.

Member states have bought more than half of Russia’s LNG on the market in the first seven months of this year, according to analysis of data by Kpler, which tracks marine and tanker traffic.

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China continues coal spree despite climate goals

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World’s biggest carbon emitter approving equivalent of two new coal plants a week, analysis shows

China is approving new coal power projects at the equivalent of two plants every week, a rate energy watchdogs say is unsustainable if the country hopes to achieve its energy targets.

The government has pledged to peak emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2060, and in 2021 the president, Xi Jinping, promised to stop building coal powered plants.

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Fukushima: China accused of hypocrisy over its own release of wastewater from nuclear plants

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Plant in China releases water with higher amounts of tritium, scientist says, calling into question seafood ban imposed on Japan

As China bans all seafood from Japan after the discharge of 1m tonnes of radioactive water from the ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, Beijing has been accused of hypocrisy and of using the incident to whip up anti-Japanese sentiment.

Scientists have pointed out that China’s own nuclear power plants release wastewater with higher levels of tritium than that found in Fukushima’s discharge, and that the levels are all within boundaries not considered to be harmful to human health.

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Investment in new Australian wind and solar farms stalls amid ‘raft of barriers’, report finds

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First half of year had slowest pace of final approvals in Clean Energy Council’s six years of tracking, but backing for power storage was more promising

Investment in new wind and solar farms has all but stalled with developers facing a “raft of barriers” despite strong political support, the Clean Energy Council said in its latest quarterly report.

The first half of 2023 produced the slowest pace of final investment approvals in the council’s six years of data tracking. Just four generation projects accounting for 348 megawatts – or roughly the size of a single coal-fired power station unit – secured financial commitment in the June quarter.

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Senator responds to report – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Conroy says comments at Labor conference about strategic balance in Pacific

Conroy is asked about comments he made at the Labor conference, saying it is against Australia’s interest to have one power dominate our region, especially one that breaches international laws.

And is it your view that China is trying to do that, dominate our region?

I’m not going to be going into what other countries are doing but it’s clear that we’re seeing great strategic competition in our region, and it’s appropriate that we respond through increased diplomatic engagement and an increasing deterrence in the Australian Defence Force.

They all play complementary roles in promoting peace and stability in our [region].

So this is about peace and stability in our region by deterring conflict and I know you will respond that saying, well, aren’t we just engaging in military buildup, but in the end, the only way we pursue peace and stability is by presenting strength. This is what this is about.

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Global markets brace for supply disruptions as Woodside Energy workers prepare to strike

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Unions say members could take industrial action as early as 2 September if next round of bargaining is unsuccessful

Offshore platform workers at Woodside Energy are preparing to strike, as protracted negotiations over pay and conditions threaten to disrupt Australian gas exports, putting international markets on edge.

Union representatives said on Sunday workers planned to strike if the next round of bargaining, scheduled for Wednesday, was unsatisfactory.

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Ecuador prepares for ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ vote to stop oil drilling

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Referendum alongside presidential election will decide whether to halt extraction in Amazon national park

As Ecuadorians go to the polls on Sunday they must not only decide between eight presidential candidates but also vote on an unprecedented referendum question that could set a new course for the oil-reliant nation.

The poll will decide whether to halt drilling at the Yasuní Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oilfield, also known as oil block 43, which lies in an Amazon national park and one of the world’s richest pockets of biodiversity. Ecuador’s largest protected area is also home to the Waorani people and the country’s last Indigenous communities in voluntary isolation, the Tagaeri and Taromenane.

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Woodside faces Indigenous legal challenge to seismic blasting at WA gas site

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Traditional owner alleges company failed to adequately consult on effect of Scarborough project blasting on sea country

A traditional owner has filed a legal challenge to the approval of seismic blasting for Woodside’s Scarborough offshore gas project in Western Australia.

Mardudhunera woman Raelene Cooper is seeking a judicial review of the offshore petroleum regulator Nopsema’s decision to grant the approval despite concerns consultation with traditional owners had been inadequate.

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ALP national conference day one – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

The conference is up and running.

We will bring you as much of it as we can – and will make sure we have all the main motions covered off, as well as the tone and vibe of it all.

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UK windfarm red tape to cost billpayers £1.5bn a year, say analysts

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Analysis finds Treasury rules on new windfarms likely to stifle energy generation and keep bills high

New offshore windfarms will be strangled by government red tape, costing UK billpayers £1.5bn a year, an analysis has found.

The latest government auction for new offshore windfarms, due to be completed in September, could result in few projects making it through Treasury rules, according to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), a non-profit organisation.

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Electrical union wants Australia’s net zero targets boosted by ‘substantial’ investment and state ownership

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Exclusive: Influential leftwing unions to tell Labor’s national conference party it must seize ‘most significant economic opportunity since the Industrial Revolution’

Australia’s shift to net zero emissions should be accelerated by “substantial public investment” in renewable electricity including expanded state ownership, influential leftwing unions will argue at Labor’s national conference.

The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) will use the party conference to call on the Albanese government to seize the “most significant economic opportunity since the Industrial Revolution” to drive down power prices for households and create secure, well-paid jobs for thousands of Australians.

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Australia news live: authorities given stop and search powers near Qld border in bid to stop fire ants; Matildas public holiday not on national cabinet agenda, PM says

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Agricultural officers given power to stop and search cars and trucks near the Queensland-NSW border. Follow the latest news live

Search efforts continue for third Indonesian crew member

Search efforts are continuing today for the third Indonesian crew member who remains missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Indonesia.

The search continues for a crew member who is still missing.

Our thoughts are with them and their loved ones.

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Cancelling Greenpeace contradicts Tory free-speech pledge but suits anti-Labour campaign

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Cutting ties with green charity is part of culture war campaign to associate Labour with ‘lefty lawyers’ and ‘eco mobs’

• Sunak will go down in history as failing UK on climate, Greenpeace says
• ‘You have adopted a bunker mentality’: Greenpeace letter to Sunak

Scaling Rishi Sunak’s empty home to drape it in black fabric in protest at oil drilling is not the first time Greenpeace has targeted the home of senior politicians.

The environmental group surrounded David Cameron’s Cotswolds cottage in 2014 to campaign against his support for fracking, and mounted the roof of John Prescott’s home in 2005 in a demonstration against the government’s slowness on climate targets. It has also previously carried out stunts at Sunak’s North Yorkshire mansion.

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