Jackie Trad joins Clean Energy Council
The Clean Energy Council has appointed former Queensland deputy premier and treasurer Jackie Trad as its new chief executive.
Trad had previously delivered energy policy reforms for the Queensland government, including establishing Queensland’s publicly owned clean energy company, CleanCo, as well as laying the groundwork for Queensland’s renewable energy and emissions reduction targets.
After leaving her decade-long stint, Trad worked at Slater and Gordon Lawyers in government and stakeholder management, as well as general manager of class actions.
Trad will take over a controversy-ridden organisation as CEC faces questions about the direction of the organisation after previous CEO Kane Thornton, along with three other executives, resigned. In a note last month, the organisation told its members that it needed to be “pragmatic about the role of gas in shoring up renewables” to be “credible” with regional communities.
The organisation went on to say it needs to be more active in winning over support for renewables in regional areas and in Queensland, “where the new Liberal government has undone years of work.”
CEC chair Ross Rolfe said their search for a new CEO was “exhaustive” and Trad would bring “sophistication and focus” to the organisation. He adds that Trad has “a wealth of experience in building consensus across a wide group of stakeholders”.
The AFR on Tuesday reported that
Teal Zoe Daniel, who lost her seat in the last federal election, had been a contender for the role and told The AFR that she’d had “fruitful discussions” with the CEC. “I’m very keen to use my voice to support good climate policy and the renewables transition,” she said. But it just “wasn’t the right fit for the moment”.
Maybe the CEC was concerned she would push the organisation back to its previous de-gassing position. But the AFR didn’t mention this.
Salta sells its share of Preston Market
Property investor and developer Salta sold 50 per cent of Melbourne’s Preston Market to co-owners, the Sydney based Medich Corporation, who’ve had a stake in the project for around two decades.
The popular market precinct spans more than five hectares near Preston station, 10 kilometres north of Melbourne.
In a media release made shared on a politician’s social media post, but not on the company’s website Salta’s managing director, Sam Tarascio, said the sale was a “considered and strategic move” so capital can be “redeployed” into “ready to go” projects.
These would include its build to rent, industrial and commercial portfolios. He added the two companies had delivered millions of dollars in upgrades to continue its legacy, but that his company needed to “focus on projects that stack up for us as a business.”
Tarascio said the two companies had held a long term vision of delivering a transport oriented mixed used precinct and incorporating housing into the market zones but had spent “years of navigating a complex planning process”.
The nail in the coffin seems to be the “introduction of a heritage overlay across the market in 2023”, which resulted in the two companies needing to “materially change” their original vision.
“Both parties have put a lot of time and investment into ensuring our plans could deliver an outcome that would balance housing needs, while prioritising the preservation of the market’s character and its traders,” Tarascio added.
The Darebin Council said it was aware of the sale, and Mayor Kristine Olaris said the council was seeking an urgent meeting with the sole owners to “continue having a positive relationship” and “advocate for its protection.”
AirTrunk strikes green deal on Singaporean data centre
Australian data centre owner AirTrunk, which was purchased last year by American investors Blackstone, will be funding a new Singaporean data centre through a $2.7 billion green loan deal with 20 banks and financial institutions.
This will be the provider’s second-largest data centre in Singapore, as well as the largest loan and green loan for a data centre in the country.
The idea was spurred by the provider’s first green loan in Australia two years ago, which saw more than 40 banks provide $4.6 billion under stipulations around carbon, energy and water usage of the data centre.
This time, the deal will be led by Credit Agricole CIB, DBS Bank and ING Bank.
The debt incorporates key performance indicators around “power utilisation efficiency”, which meant there were KPIs around reducing waste and energy.
There were further KPIs around shrinking the gender pay gap. And if the data centres meet their KPIs the banks will lower interest payments on the loans.
Savings made there will go towards funding initiatives in water conservation and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.