Category Archives: Energy

Germany plans to ban installation of most oil and gas heating from 2024

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Bill due before Bundestag in June would encourage homeowners to switch to renewables

Germany plans to ban the installation of most oil and gas heating systems from next year, with proposals approved on Wednesday triggering angry divisions in the cabinet.

The radical plans are designed to transform Germany’s heating systems in an attempt to meet net zero emission targets that critics have called unworkable and discriminatory. About half of Germany’s 41m households currently use natural gas heating, and almost a quarter use heating oil.

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Emissions from WA gas project with world’s largest industrial carbon capture system rise by more than 50%

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Chevron development off Pilbara coast was approved on condition the company store about 4m tonnes of CO2 a year

Emissions from Chevron’s Gorgon gas development off Western Australia have increased by more than 50% despite it being home to the world’s largest industrial carbon capture and storage system.

There has been a sharp drop in the amount of CO2 stored underground at the liquefied natural gas plant over the last three years, data released by Chevron showed.

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Australia news live: Andrew Hastie fires back after Mark McGowan ‘cold war pills’ comment caught on camera

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Coalition’s defence spokesperson calls WA premier ‘a prison guard looking for work’. Follow live

Voice committee heads north to hear traditional owners

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has defended the wording of the proposed Indigenous voice to parliament, dismissing fears of possible high court challenges, AAP reports.

This is a legally sound proposition. It makes it very clear that parliament is in charge.

There’s no obligation and there’s certainly not an obligation on the government to agree to the voice. There is the provision for the voice to be heard, for at least the views to be put.

That will be up to the government as a whole. I don’t know.

The reality is that we know that people are doing it tough, absolutely doing it tough. And what we want to do is where it’s responsible that we can – and affordable – that we can support people doing it tough.

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EU faces legal action after including gas and nuclear in ‘green’ investments guide

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European Commission accused of acting unlawfully in two separate cases bought by environment groups

The European Commission is being sued by environmental campaigners over a decision to include gas and nuclear in an EU guide to “green” investments.

Two separate legal challenges are being lodged on Tuesday at the European Union’s general court in Luxembourg – one by Greenpeace and another by a coalition including Client Earth and WWF – after the classification of fuels in the so-called taxonomy, a guide for investors intended to channel billions into green technologies.

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Renewable energy growth must double to meet Australia’s emission goals, Clean Energy Council says

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More than 35% of Australia’s electricity last year was supplied by renewables, up from just under 17% in 2017

Australia’s renewable energy industry is growing at half the pace needed for the sector to meet the Albanese government’s emissions reduction goals, despite the sector having one of its best years, the Clean Energy Council said in its annual report.

Last year construction commenced on a record of more than 5,000MW of large-scale wind and solar farms. Work also started on 19 big batteries with 1,380MW/2,004MWh capacity, or almost half as large again as the previous record year in 2021, the council said.

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Germany’s last three nuclear power stations to shut this weekend

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Closures, delayed after Russia reduced Europe’s gas supplies, leave conundrum for energy policymakers

Germany’s three remaining nuclear power stations will shut down on Saturday, 12 years after the Fukushima disaster in Japan accelerated the country’s exit from atomic energy.

The closures mark the conclusion of a stop-start approach to atomic energy and a victory for the country’s vociferous anti-nuclear movement.

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Turning out the lights: what is the legacy of the Liddell power station?

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In the first of a two-part report, we look at the successes – and the costs – of what once was Australia’s largest power station

Jackson Channon, an electrician at the Liddell power station, counts “three generations of generation” who worked at the Hunter Valley site, including a grandad who drove cement trucks used to build it and parents who first met while on staff.

Come 29 April, Channon will attend the closure of the AGL Energy coal-fired facility, joining hundreds of current and former staff, community members and even artists marking the end of what was Australia’s biggest power plant when it was built 52 years ago.

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King’s green energy firm was investigated after 38-day greenhouse gas leak

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Health and Safety Executive also issued several notices related to worker safety and explosive substances at JV Energen

A green energy company set up by King Charles was investigated for numerous health and safety breaches after the unauthorised leak of more than 1,000 tonnes of global-heating gases.

Methane, CO2 and traces of the toxic gas hydrogen sulphide were released after a gas-holder at the plant split open in 2020. The incident, which lasted for 38 days, was described as “significant” by the Environment Agency.

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Value of Australian lithium exports tipped to match thermal coal in five years

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Revenue from mining key metal used in EV batteries to triple by 2027-28 while thermal coal exports set to fall by more than 70%

Exports of Australian lithium – a key metal used in batteries – are expected to earn as much as sales of thermal coal within five years, as the world increasingly embraces clean energy and the market value of fossil fuels falls.

New data released by the Australian government forecasts local lithium production will double and the industry’s revenue will triple by 2027-28 compared with last financial year.

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State actor still main suspect behind Nord Stream sabotage, says investigator

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Swedish prosecutor casts doubt over theories that independent group was responsible for pipeline blasts

The Swedish prosecutor investigating the Nord Stream sabotage attack has said the “clear main scenario” was that a state-sponsored group had been involved, seemingly casting doubt over theories that posited an independent group was responsible for the pipeline blasts.

Mats Ljungqvist told Reuters on Thursday that though a non-state-backed plot was still theoretically possible, the type of explosive used in the bombings ruled out a “large portion of actors”.

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Greenhouse gas emissions rose at ‘alarming’ rate last year, US data shows

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Noaa report shows rapid increase in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide

Record temperatures, devastating floods and superstorms are causing death and destruction across the planet but humans are failing to cut greenhouse gas emissions fueling the climate emergency, new US data shows.

Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide – the greenhouse gases emitted by human activity that are the most significant contributors to global heating – continued to increase rapidly during 2022, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (Noaa).

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Pat Dodson takes leave from Senate – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Former Tasmanian Liberal premier condemns party’s opposition to voice

Tasmania is the last Liberal state government left in the country and its former premier has taken to social media this morning to speak out against the federal party’s decision to oppose the voice to parliament.

Should the Liberal party maintain its opposition to the voice it will simply accelerate its increasing irrelevance.

I have asked for Cyber Security NSW to issue advice to NSW government employees, to implement this change as soon as possible.

I will no longer be using TikTok.

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Eastern Australia gas outlook improves but winter shortfall still possible for south, watchdog says

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ACCC says better 2023 forecast due to increase in production estimates and less uncontracted LNG that can be exported

Eastern Australia’s gas supply outlook has improved, but there is still the prospect of a winter shortfall for southern states without piped supplies from Queensland or altered export contracts, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has said.

The ACCC’s March gas inquiry report found the outlook for 2023 had improved since January, with a projected gas shortfall of three petajoules for the year, down from the 30 petajoule shortfall forecast previously.

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Solar panels could be a lifesaver for public housing tenants grappling with Australia’s soaring energy costs

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Natalie Rabey, who relies on power-hungry machines to help her breathe, is campaigning for solar power for Victoria’s public housing

Natalie Rabey doesn’t know how much time she has left. But she knows what she wants to do with it.

“While I’m still breathing I’d like to get some action on solar panels for people in public housing because it’s just terrible at the moment,” she says.

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People in Cheshire village will not be forced to join hydrogen energy trial

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Backlash prompts companies to give residents option of keeping natural gas rather than joining pilot project

Energy firms will no longer force people in a village in Cheshire to stop heating and cooking with natural gas and swap to lower-carbon hydrogen after a local backlash to a planned government-backed pilot.

British Gas and Cadent had been prepared to cut off gas supplies to nearly 2,000 homes in the village of Whitby, just outside Ellesmere Port on the south bank of the Mersey, as part of their proposals to create the UK’s first hydrogen-fuelled village.

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‘Half-baked, half-hearted’: critics ridicule UK’s long-awaited climate strategy

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UK’s 1,000-page plan criticised as doing ‘little to boost energy security, lower bills or meet climate goals’

The UK’s new energy plan unveiled on Thursday is a missed opportunity full of “half-baked, half-hearted” policies that do not go far enough to power Britain’s climate goals, according to green business groups and academics.

The 1,000-page strategy has been criticised by many within Britain’s green sectors who fear the country could surrender its leading role in climate action because of the government’s “business as usual” approach to delivering green investments.

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Biden administration sides with climate lawsuit against fossil fuel companies

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DoJ brief argues Colorado case against energy giants ExxonMobil and Suncor should be heard in state court instead of federal

The US Department of Justice filed a legal brief Thursday in support of local governments in Colorado that are part of a growing wave of local and state governments pursuing climate litigation against fossil fuel companies.

In the brief, the DoJ argued that the Colorado case against the Canadian energy giant Suncor should be heard in state court, which is considered more favourable than federal court for plaintiffs who are suing oil companies over climate change. ExxonMobile is also a defendant in the case.

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Gas shortages possible during bouts of extreme weather over next four years, Aemo warns

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Customers could face supply gaps if cold weather coincides with low levels of renewable energy generation, report says

South-eastern Australia faces possible gas supply gaps for at least the next four years during bouts of extreme weather, potentially requiring exports to be diverted south, according to the gas outlook from the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo).

Aemo’s gas statement of opportunities (GSOO) report found that gas output in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania would meet demand until 2027. However, customers could face shortfalls particularly if cold weather coincided with low levels of renewable energy generation.

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ABC staff to walk off job next week – as it happened

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Acting prime minister and defence minister Richard Marles has spoken to ABC News Breakfast this morning after the $368bn announcement of the Aukus deal yesterday.

In response to the reaction from China accusing Australia, the US and Britain of embarking on a “path of error and danger”, Marles defends making a decision that is in Australia’s national interest:

We are seeking to acquire this capability to make our contribution to the collective security of the region and the maintenance of the global rules-based order.

And one of the issues within our region we are witnessing the largest conventional military build-up that the world has seen since the end of the second world war. And it’s not Australia who is doing that, but that shapes the world in which we live.

We’re completely confident these are in complete compliance with non proliferation.

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Australian drivers facing heavy new fines for parking in electric vehicle charging spots

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Experts liken act known as ‘ICEing’ to parking at a fuel bowser, and say high penalties are necessary to encourage EV uptake

Drivers could be fined as much as $3,200 for parking in spaces for electric vehicles as part of little-known penalties introduced in four states and territories.

The fines, some of them added to road rules late last year, range from $3,200 in the Australian Capital Territory to $369 in Victoria.

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