Highlights from the Australian market
- The Coalition has pledged to repeal a swathe of climate policies within 30 days of taking office – scrapping the net zero target, safeguard mechanism, vehicle emissions standards, nuclear prohibitions and four offshore wind zones – with Angus Taylor saying “Australia has done its bit” to drive down emissions.
- Victoria will ban datacentres from residential zones and within 150 m of homes, schools and childcare centres, and require them to supply their own renewable energy and storage; critics point out that the rules aren’t retrospective, exempting all approved projects and the eight applications already before the planning minister.
- With AEMO forecasting that datacentre electricity use could triple by 2030, the AEMC has opened consultation on two rule changes from Minister Bowen that would make datacentres and other large loads pay their share of the network upgrades they trigger, and stop the cost of stranded assets being passed to other consumers if projects fall through. Submissions close 5 November.
- Treasury’s Intergenerational Report 2026 names the energy transition as one of five forces reshaping the economy over the next 40 years, projecting that household energy costs will fall around 40% between 2030 and 2050 as homes electrify, and that data centres will make up almost 10% of NEM demand by 2050.
- Woodside and Burrup Peninsula Traditional Owners are locked in a $300 million compensation dispute over the 1998 land access agreement for the North West Shelf’s Karratha Gas Plant – the Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation is seeking $390 million over 12 years against Woodside’s offer of $87 million.
- Chris Bowen is travelling to India and Saudi Arabia to bolster fuel security, with plans to visit the world’s largest refinery at Jamnagar and meet Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman about the closure of the East-West pipeline, ahead of COP31.
- Sunshine and wind met a record 80.4% of demand on the NEM on Saturday 19th September, with rooftop solar alone supplying more than half the grid’s power for 30 minutes around lunchtime.
News from Japan
- Paywalled: JERA will invest around ¥310 billion (~A$2.8 billion) to build Hawaii’s first LNG-fired power plant, along with an import terminal and gas pipelines on Oahu. The project would open up new LNG demand in a state that still relies on oil for around 70% of its power generation.
Podcast of the week
Columbia Energy Exchange looks at the Iran war six months on. With crude near $107 a barrel, Hormuz tanker traffic reduced and Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline offline, they warn that the market buffers that cushioned the early shock are running out.