By Niusha Shafiabady, Australian Catholic University and Xiaoying Qi, Australian Catholic University For more than a century, global geopolitics has revolved around oil and gas. Countries with big fossil fuel reserves, such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, have amassed significant wealth and foreign influence, helping shape the world order. But the global shift toward renewable…
Green Gravity, a company seeking to use legacy mineshafts to store and release renewable energy, has signed an MoU with Wollongong City Council which the pair say “aims to position Wollongong and the broader Illawarra as a hub for world-leading clean energy solutions.” According to a statement from Green Gravity on Thursday, the MoU covers…
The NSW government has announced a new Renewable Energy Skills Legacy Program, which it says will benefit regional workers and students in the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ.) According to a statement on Friday, the $2.9 million program will provide “training, jobs and inclusive opportunities” by delivering training, apprenticeships and career pathways related to…
A new report released by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) in partnership with resources company Fortescue, recommends changes to policy and tax to help reduce diesel fuel use in the mining, road freight, agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries. According to a statement from scientific and technical body ATSE on Wednesday, there…
By Christoph Nedopil, Griffith University Australia has flourished as an export powerhouse for decades. Much of this prosperity has been driven by the nation’s natural endowment with two important raw products for producing steel the traditional way: iron ore and metallurgical coal. Worth more than A$100 billion in 2024, Australia’s iron ore shipments to China…
Australia’s energy technologies have received their annual report card, and renewables are still the class champions whilst nuclear small modular reactors remain firmly planted at the bottom of the cost league table, according to CSIRO’s latest GenCost report released on Tuesday. The comprehensive study found wind and solar backed by storage and transmission continue to…
Emeritus Professor Roy Green, the Special Innovation Advisor at the University of Technology Sydney, will deliver a review of the Net Zero Economy Authority’s Energy Industry Jobs Plan (EIJP) by the end of the year. Net Zero Economy Authority CEO David Shankey announced the appointment of Green (pictured) to lead the statutory review of the…
The Western Australian government has pledged $25 million in funding for manufacturing related to the energy transition ahead of the Thursday state budget. According to a statement from treasurer Rita Saffioti and other ministers, the package will help diversify the state economy and “secur[e] the poles and wires” needed for the energy transition. It includes:…
By Samantha Hepburn, Deakin University In a decision surprising very few people, Australia’s new environment minister Murray Watt has signed off on an extension for the gas plant at Karratha, part of the enormous North West Shelf liquefied natural gas project. The decision had been deferred until after the federal election, given significant environmental concerns…
The federal government announced plans on Thursday to establish a Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve with an initial investment of $1.2 billion, including a $1 billion increase to the existing Critical Minerals Facility. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the initiative would boost Australia’s economic resilience and leverage the country’s abundant resources of critical minerals and rare…