Media

Last week, in a landmark ruling the High Court upheld the NSW Court of Appeal’s invalidation of approval for extension of MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant coal mine in the NSW Hunter Valley. Read more

The announcement this week that the Whyalla Steelworks blast furnace would permanently close with the loss of more than 500 jobs, impacting the entire regional community, was a dark day. It has also been a long time coming. Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance ran this landmark industrial facility into the ground for years, with the South Australian Government accusing GFG Alliance of starving it of investment while defaulting on debts to suppliers and government and on worker entitlements. Read more

Alistair Kitchen & Tim Buckley: The US war on Iran at the start of 2026 gave Australia a major reminder of why energy security is yet another reason for the whole of our country to embrace the energy system transformation to electrification and decarbonisation – a permanent solution to our addiction to expensive, high emissions, scarce diesel and oil imported from the Middle East. Nowhere is this need and opportunity more evident than in remote communities of outback Australia. For these communities, excessive dependency on imported diesel means energy insecurity is a near daily threat. Read more

Data centres could consume 13 per cent of National Electricity Market power by 2036. Australia should require them to bring new firmed renewable energy rather than add pressure to the grid. We all saw the shocking scenes last week as a glacier collapse in the Himalayas produced a biblical flash flood on the Nepal-Tibet border, obliterating everything in its path. The impact was such that it triggered seismic activity signalling an earthquake. Panicked people tried desperately to outrun a churning wall of water metres high. At the time of writing, over 900 are dead, swept away in the raging torrent, with thousands missing, villages and infrastructure destroyed, and scores of Australians unaccounted for. Read more

Rooftop solar and batteries and virtual power plant technology solutions could permanently reduce this massive state budget subsidy, but it requires capacity building and up front capital, as well as political will and policy developments, and ultimately a nationally coordinated approach. Australia has installed over 487,000 home battery systems in the last 12 months. But how many have been installed in remote, end-of-grid and off-grid communities? Next to none. Now is a great time to change this Minister Chris Bowen and Assistant Minister Josh Wilson, Minister Amber Jade Sanderson and Minister David Janetzki. Read more

Australia faces a nation-defining moment. Climate change, energy insecurity, technological transformation and geopolitical competition are reshaping the economic and strategic landscape. They can no longer be understood – or governed – in isolation. They demand a more strategic response: one that aligns public institutions and private investment to build the industries that will underpin future prosperity and national resilience. Read more

Globally, the iron and steel industry’s decarbonisation trajectory – key to tackling climate change, given the sector generated close to 10% of emissions – is advancing. But it is doing so haltingly, and at a pace that remains misaligned with the rate required to meet global emissions reduction obligations. Read more

Last week again demonstrated the growing unreliability of end of life coal fired power plants which costs Australians and domestic heavy industry dearly. Paul McArdle of WattClarity highlights the massive spike in power prices on 8 July 2026 that saw pricing average >A$300/MWh for most of the evening peak across not just Victoria but the entire National Electricity Market (NEM) last Wednesday. From 10.05am, the 6 x Loy Yang lignite coal-fired power plant units across Loy Yang A (AGL) and Loy Yang B (now Sembcorp owned Alinta) rebid upwards due to a ‘coal shortfall’. Read more

Governments, businesses and households are pivoting because electrification increasingly makes economic sense. For Australia, this presents both an opportunity and a warning. We remain the world’s third-largest exporter of fossil fuels, yet many of our biggest export markets are simultaneously accelerating their transition towards renewable electricity and electrified industries. As these economies in Asia continue reducing their dependence on imported coal and gas, Australia’s long-term export profile must change. Rather than resisting that shift in a way that leaves workers exposed to sudden shocks, we should prepare for it. Read more

NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey was unequivocal on the central role of energy transition in economic growth and prosperity. Mookhey emphasised that the renewables transition is a top driver of investment into the state, with renewable energy infrastructure a significant contributor to the 20% surge in investment over the year to the March quarter 2026. Read more

Data centre proponents could lose social licence to operate far faster than has in some cases happened in the electricity sector, given the scale and speed of proposed developments. Climate Energy Finance (CEF) and our partners at the Carbon Zero Initiative are calling for a set of binding public interest principles that would shape the emergence of the data centre sector in Australia. Read more

Australia’s smelters will keep needing taxpayer bailouts unless governments create a publicly backed clean energy model that can deliver reliable, affordable power for heavy industry. Read more