In this Weekly Dispatch:
- The AER releases the final Default Market Offer, with bills expected to fall between 3% and 7% in QLD and NSW.
- The CEC’s Clean Energy Australia 2026 report shows renewables hit 43% of Australia’s electricity in 2025 and Australia is now the world’s third-largest utility-scale battery market — but new wind and solar investment has fallen to a decade low.
- AEMO and Transgrid have approved full operations for Australia’s first 8-hour battery — RWE’s 50MW/400MWh Limondale BESS in southern NSW, comprising 144 Tesla Megapacks.
- The Queensland Government has launched a tender for 400MW of new gas-fired generation in Central Queensland, managed by QIC and targeting operational supply by 2032.
- Western Australia is leading Australia’s charge as a global battery nation, underpinned by surging home battery installations and the state’s position as the world’s largest lithium supplier.
- Leaked BHP documents reveal they quietly shelved billions in Pilbara decarbonisation projects and delayed its electric truck rollout — while continuing to buy new diesel fleets.
- A May heatwave in the UK — with amber heat-health alerts issued across England — has prompted fresh questions about whether the country’s infrastructure, housing stock and health systems are built for a hotter climate.
- Sumitomo (major Japan trading company) and ENEOS (Japan oil major) have announced that they’ve “paused” their green hydrogen project w/ Malaysia’s SEDC Energy announced in late 2023.
- Due to higher JKM LNG prices, generation costs for LNG are now 2x that of coal in Japan.
- NSW beats QLD in the State of Origin.
- Podcast of the week: Bloomberg chat about the growth of offshore wind projects.