A little bit of Monica

In this Weekly Dispatch:

1. Snowy Hydro launches its newest tunnel boring machine, Monica, alongside assurances the project is 70% complete.
2. The successful bids for the NSW Roadmap’s Tender Round 6 were announced, amounting to 1.17 GW (11.98 GWh) of storage.
3. The federal government announced $60m in subsidies for EV car financing, but only for certain Kias and Hyundais.
4. Origin Energy and Centennial Coal are in negotiations over coal supply to Eraring Power Station.
5. A review into the governance of the Australian Energy Market Operator was announced.
6. The AFR reports on winter demand peak challenges arising in Victoria as household gas use electrifies.
7. After a false start in January, Japan’s Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear generator is set to resume generation on February 9, bringing 1,360 MW into the system.
8. Economic Regulation Authority Western Australia release Benchmark Reserve Capacity Prices for the 2028/29 capacity year, using six hour BESS as the Benchmark Technology.
9. Podcast of the week:  The Volts Podcast discuss the challenges of clean electrification in Taiwan.