News in brief: August

Jackie Trad joins Clean Energy Council

20 July: 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.

Commbank cuts and Glencore on the firing line

13 July: Commonwealth Bank looks to finally be putting the “nail in the coffin” for coal by only allowing coal companies with a comprehensive transition plan to access financing.

In the process, the nation’s biggest coal mining company, Glencore, notable for its rampant advertising in support of coal mining in recent days, is in the immediate firing line. The bank reports that financing for thermal coal miners has this year been reduced to $1.2 billion, and oil and gas have seen a cut from $3.3 billion in 2022 down to $800 million this year.

The move is backed by the bank’s commitment to a new climate plan released in its annual report, followed by its updated environmental and social framework. In the process, the banks’ transition plan now targets clients who derive 25 per cent or more of their revenue from the sale of thermal coal.

Client transition plans must include a time bound decarbonisation plan in line with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to well below two degrees above pre-industrial levels, as well as reports on the client’s scope 1,2, and 3 emissions.

Dropping rules and regs will undermine growing confidence in housing, David Chandler says

As the bigwigs assemble in Canberra for the pow wow previously known as the Productivity Roundtable, former NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler dropped us a note.

He said that “in the sea of noise” to wind back standards and regulations, there were opportunities to make both more efficient, but that there should be “no relaxation of their intent under the guise of lifting productivity”.

“That would run the risk of undermining growing public confidence in new housing stock and the performance of regulators, especially in the eastern states,” he said.

“These are nationally important issues as our industry is under increasing pressure to become more efficient, resilient, and to deliver much needed housing.

“Very few voices in the ‘take the foot off the pedal’ debate seem invested in ensuring that standards reinforce public confidence in new housing supply. “They offer no measurable insights into the how.”

But the “how” conversation must prevail, he continued, and it won’t come from “some of the shallow arguments from most of those who lack real subject matter expertise”.

“Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

AGL is good, but not good enough

The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) said AGL’s Climate Transition Action Plan, released on Wednesday, showed green shoots but “continues to lack the ambition and pace that investors expect from Australia’s largest energy generator and greenhouse gas emitter”.

The plan is for:

• a new Scope 3 target for a 60 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases by the end of FY35 based on the FY19 baseline, and ceasing operation of Loy Yang Mine by the end of FY35 
• Coal plant closures: Bayswater by 2033 (during FY34) and Loy Yang A by the end of FY35. 
• Interim renewables and firming target for FY30 has been increased from 5GW to 6GW (with at least 3GW of grid-scale batteries) 
• Commitments to positive advocacy, including monitoring industry associations 

Brynn O’Brien, the organisation’s executive director, said, “As Australia’s largest electricity generator, AGL should be driving forward the buildout of bulk renewable power. We have not seen a real increase in ambition in this climate plan – the 2035 target of a modest 12GW remains unchanged, with just an incremental increase of 1GW in the interim target by 2030, which is really just a commitment to build some of it sooner.   

Alienta Energy and NRN launch VPP program

Energy retailer Alienta Energy has partnered with climate tech startup NRN (National Renewable Energy) to deliver a solar battery and virtual power plants (VPP) package to consumers – offering solar and batteries at no additional cost.

The product, called SolarTogether, sees NRN use its platform to supply and coordinate solar and battery systems to consumers at no upfront cost, financing or repayments.

Customers can utilise this program to enjoy lower supply charges and choose to purchase the solar and batteries at any time or take ownership after 12 years. The startup will also operate the VPP to maximise value for consumers and the grid.

The startup is now rolling out across New South Wales and hopes to expand into Victoria and Queensland in the coming months after a successful pilot with 50 customers last year.

Deakin partners on textile recycling initiatives

Deakin University’s Recycling and Clean Energy Commercialisation Hub (REACH) has partnered with textile recycling company Samsara Eco to advance its patented textile breaking enzyme technology.

The university will offer expertise in advanced chemical analysis and polymer processing to help the company find further recycling solutions for additives such as dyes, finishes and coatings present in textile waste.

The company’s current technology allows enzymes to break down materials such as synthetic fibres, nylon 6,6 and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into their original monomers, to be reused in new “virgin quality” products.

NSW clean energy tech recipients announced

If you missed it, the NSW government has announced the 13 recipients of its $26.2 million Clean Technology Innovation grants, which are part of a larger $275 million Net Zero Manufacturing Initiative.

Among the winners are 5B Holdings, winning $2.5 million, which earlier this year also won funding from ARENA’s solar sunshot program for its fast solar rollout tech named Maverick. Also notable is Kardinia Energy, winning more than $2.25 million for its lightweight and flexible printed solar, and more recently known for providing its rock band clients, Coldplay, the technology to power the band’s events. The full recipient list is here.

What we’re reading

A coalition forms over the US Energy Star

The US Energy Star ratings, which rate both consumer electronics and commercial real estate energy use, are yet another victim on the firing line from Trump’s cuts to climate and sustainability reporting.

And now an unlikely coalition consisting of bakers, builders, hot tub lobbyists and even chemical companies is trying to stop the termination of the program.

Grist noted that an “unexpected” coalition of industry groups generally against climate progress has formed to defend the rating system. This includes the American Chemistry Council and the National Association of Home Builders, the Spray Foam Coalition, the American Bakers Association, and the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance.

The chemistry association had previously fought against the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of power plants, the hot tub lobbyists had previously promoted natural gas use in homes, yet both are rallying with environmental groups such as the Sierra Club to defend the Energy Star. Read more here.

Private equity funds electrification

American-based private equity fund KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co) is investing $500 million into CleanPeak Energy in a commitment to the firm’s climate transition strategy. CleanPeak presented at our Festival of Electric Ideas webinar series.

The company targets rooftop panels and battery installations on shopping centres as well as commercial and industrial property, and was founded by chief executive and former energy investment banker at Citi, Philip Graham, alongside former head of strategy at Origin Energy, Jon Hare. It now operates 50 distributed generation sites across Australia, which include more than 140 megawatts of solar power systems and 35 megawatt-hours of batteries. KKR is also investing $US34 ($A52) billion into companies such as UK-based electric bus provider Zenobe, German energy service provider EGC and US solar and storage developer Avantus.

 Read more on the AFR.

Boronia Apartments launches new affordable BTR housing

11 August: City West Housing will launch 74 apartments targeted for low to medium income households in Green Square on Friday. The Boronia Apartments will be available for rent and capped at 30 per cent of household income.

The apartments are all electric, offer rooftop solar, and include other sustainability initiatives such as using passive design principles on heating and cooling, targeting a NatHERS rating between 4.8 and 7.2, electric heat pumps, induction cooktops, as well as developing near transport nodes.

The $66 million housing project received a capital grant from the NSW government under the Community Housing Innovation Fund, as well as assistance through the federal government’s Housing Australia, and the rest is funded through equity and debt.

Climate data has been ‘disappeared’ in the US  – along with the jobs numbers

6 August: It’s not just the jobs numbers that the US president doesn’t like – sacking the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics when he didn’t like what they said. But now, according to Grist climate data has also been “disappeared”.

According to Grist, 400 experts working on National Climate Assessments were recently sacked, and not long after, the entire website that monitors the way climate change affected every part of the US had vanished.

That’s 25 years of data, composed of congressionally mandated reports.

Gretchen Gehrke, who monitors US federal websites with the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, said it was “by far the biggest loss we’ve seen” and the “most approachable” resource providing how climate change affects people’s daily lives.

(Free speech, but not for thee.)

NSW Mining is allegedly misleading consumers

The Climate Integrity and Environmental Defenders Office has brought a complaint about NSW Mining to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for publishing public disinformation in an ad on The Coalface newspaper, claiming coal has a role to play in the transition through “mining responsibly”.

The mining lobby said coal is needed for energy security and that NSW coal is high quality.

The complaint said the ad leads to a false belief that coal is needed for essential services and a stable electricity supply when half of Australia already relies on other energy sources, especially renewables.

These numbers are projected to rise to 82 per cent by 2030, with the national electricity market coal fleet forecasted to retire by 2034-35. The complaint also said that “describing coal as high quality is misleading when all coal contributes to significant climate harms.”

The advocacy group likened the tactic to “the tobacco industry playbooks.”

Between the 1930s and 50s, the tobacco industry paid doctors to appear in advertisements to reassure people that smoking was safe.

Indigenous community claims stake in battery project

First Nations community group Wambal Bila has taken a 5 per cent long term equity stake in a stage 1 Wellington battery energy storage system (BESS) in NSW’s central west allowing the Wiradjuri people to continue to receive benefits from the battery.

The newly formed group) is a community-led corporation established by the local Wiradjuri community to manage the equity ownership in the project which has been renamed Bulabul Battery, Wiradjuri for “two acting together”. The organisation provides training, support and manages and distributes other benefits from the battery project to invest in culture, social and economic priorities for the community.

The project is delivered by independent power producers, AMPYR Australia, who offered the community an equity stake, which will include the right to a preferred, fixed annual return and a share of ongoing equity returns alongside other investors. It will also provide $300,000 to support the indigenous organisation’s establishment, as well as a similar stake in stage 2 of the BESS.

Jobs news

Insurance Australia Group (IAG) has appointed Amy Hogan as its executive manager of group sustainability and climate action.

Hogan was previously the head of ESG and sustainability at road developers Transurban and head of sustainability at Stockland.

Hogan said the insurance industry was pivotal to the “pressing challenges of climate change” and resilience.