Highlights from the Australian market
- Labor’s flagship renewables policy has hit a major setback, with 27 of 109 Capacity Investment Scheme projects pulling out as rising costs, grid connection delays and difficulty securing PPAs take their toll. The withdrawals take 9.5GW out of the scheme’s 40GW total and cast doubt over whether enough new generation will be built before Eraring and Yallourn close.
- The WA Government’s Plan for Affordable Energy targets 75% renewables on the main grid by 2030-31 and offers manufacturers low-interest loans of up to $15 million. The government warns business energy prices could rise 89% by 2032 without the build-out.
- Experts warn the federal government’s gas reservation scheme, which would make east coast exporters set aside up to 20% of production for the domestic market, has loopholes that could let Santos meet its obligations with “paper” supplies. Gas producers argue the scheme goes too far and could raise prices.
- Amid growing community backlash in inner Sydney and Melbourne, the Albanese government will ban AI data centres from being built near homes and recreational facilities. Draft laws due for consultation before the end of the year will also force new data centres to transition to renewables or risk having their power cut off.
- The market operator is warning of “catastrophic” blackout risks as its engineers and analysts take industrial action over pay, including bans on approving planned outages.
- Octopus has agreed terms to buy TagEnergy’s 577MW Golden Plains Wind Farm 2 near Geelong in a deal worth more than $2 billion. Meanwhile, CECEP Wind Power and Goldwind have put the 435MW White Rock Wind Farm near Glen Innes up for sale, expected to fetch more than $450 million, amid a wider exit of Chinese capital frustrated by FIRB.
- WA will be the first state to lift its ban on plug-in “balcony” solar, opening solar to renters and apartment dwellers, with estimated savings of $240 a year, or up to $500 with a battery. The government has launched consultation on a safety standard before it finalises the rules.
News from Japan
- Paywalled: Tokyo Gas has dropped plans for a 30MW floating offshore wind project off Fukushima because construction costs keep rising. The project sat outside the government’s offshore wind auctions, and Tokyo Gas will stay in bottom-fixed projects such as the 450MW Round 3 project off Yamagata it is developing with Marubeni and Kansai EPCO.
- Paywalled: Inzai City in Chiba Prefecture, home to about 30 data centres, is moving forward w/ new regulations to ban the development of new data centres around its three main train stations..
Podcast of the week
Zugzwang: Episode 6 – Anatomy of a Trading Department
The latest episode of Zugzwang: The market modelling podcast is now available!
Jack Simpson, Oliver Nunn and Endgame Director David Scott go inside a trading team to see how the physical, contract and risk desks work. They explain why a price spike looks very different to each desk, from the contracts locked in years out to the dispatch decisions made on the day.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0346ILtbXgKJJIlOy64p1i
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zugzwang/id6801348317
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ3gvq2Ccils