Farrer fight intensifies as Ley takes flight
... Sussan Ley is taking her bat and ball and going home. The tenure of Ms Ley has been marred by Farrer communities being devastated by the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, a plan that her party was the ultimate architect of.
Global spotlight on Beetaloo with new acreage release: Maley
The Finocchiaro CLP Government is further boosting economic growth in the Territory through a new acreage release for onshore petroleum exploration. The acreage is approximately 4,000 sqkm, more than five times the size of Singapore, and is strategically located near the Amadeus Gas Pipeline and the Stuart Highway within the highly prospective Beetaloo Sub-basin, one of Australia’s most significant onshore shale gas plays.
Energy bills to go up – yet again – for Labor’s ‘cheapest form of electricity’: Webster
Everyday Australians face another hit to their power bills after Transgrid applied to pass on to consumers the $1.1 billion of their cost over-runs in the 900-kilometre EnergyConnect project between NSW and South Australia. Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster MP said the latest revelation yet again exposes the fallacy that ‘renewable’ energy is not the ‘cheapest form of electricity’.
$7 billion pumped hydro projects declared critical for NSW: Sharpe, Scully, Jackson
Two multi-billion-dollar renewable energy projects with the potential to power over 1 million homes in peak demand have been declared Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI) by the Minns Labor Government ... $3.5 billion Western Sydney Pumped Hydro Project at Lake Burragorang is a ZEN Energy ... $3.6 billion Yarrabin (Phoenix) Pumped Hydro Project near Mudgee is a ACEN Australia project ... Both projects, are in the early planning stages and are located on WaterNSW land.
Vanadium royalty relief a win for regional jobs, emerging industries: Michael, Sanderson
Vanadium miners will be afforded significant royalty relief with the Cook Government delivering a major election commitment which will support Western Australia's resources industry and help the State's economy remain the strongest in the nation. From today, a 2.5 per cent royalty rate will apply to vanadium products in a move to incentivise production of the critical mineral in WA and encourage its emerging vanadium battery industry.
Big energy, big decisions: Public hearing set for Dinawan Solar Farm as wind stage approaches milestone
The future of the Riverina’s energy landscape is moving into a critical phase this month as the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) prepares to descend on Coleambally for a public meeting regarding the Dinawan Solar Farm.
SEC breaks ground on Delburn Wind Farm: D’Ambrosio
Minister for the State Electricity Commission Lily D’Ambrosio has visited the SEC Delburn Wind Farm site, where construction will begin in March ahead of operations starting in 2028. The 33-turbine wind farm will have a generation capacity of up to 205 megawatts of renewable energy to the electricity grid, enough to power more than 130,000 homes with renewable power. The SEC will hold 100 per cent ownership of the project.
Snowy visit connects heritage and hi-tech
Australia's largest renewable energy project has received the seal of approval from an international tunnelling giant and Germany's top diplomat in Australia. Tunnelling pioneer Martin Herrenknecht and German ambassador Beate Grzeski recently enjoyed a quintessentially classic Australian flat white at the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre in Cooma and toured the Snowy 2.0 Marica worksite, outside Kiandra.
Fire fuel load reaching critical levels: TasFarmers
Farmers across the north of the state are increasingly worried by the huge fuel load on the roadside, especially in the Meander Valley, Northern Midlands and Latrobe Municipalities and on roads controlled by the state government. “The risk of a catastrophic fire caused by too much long grass and weeds on the edges of the roads is increasing by the day,” said TasFarmers CEO Nathan Calman.
Powering up
Ausnet repair crews have been acknowledged by the community for the rapid response in rebuilding the electricity network in the wake of the Walwa-River Road bushfire despite facing tough terrain, high temperatures and even lightning and hailstorms.
Power cables connected to Alkimos desalination plant
A major milestone in construction of the future Alkimos seawater desalination plant has been achieved, with Western Power installing 5km of 132kV underground cabling between the project site and the existing Yanchep substation.
Mid West and Geraldton left in the dark as power outages hit more than 24,000 on extreme heat day: Love
The Nationals WA have called for urgent action after widespread power outages left more than 24,000 homes and businesses across the Mid West and Geraldton without electricity today [14 December 2025] on a day where temperatures exceeded 35 degrees in parts of the region.
Time to come clean on renewables cost: NSW Farmers Association
Farm communities and landscapes cannot continue to be vandalised in the state government’s sledgehammer approach to powering the nation, NSW Farmers says. As renewable developers bulldozed rural landscapes, NSW Farmers' President Xavier Martin said it was clear the Minns Government was ignoring farm communities and the damage inflicted on them by their industrial scale developments.
Battery plan backlash
Council raises alarm, TagEnergy defends Naracoorte mega-battery proposal. A Portugal-based energy company’s plan to build a 600-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) on 11 hectares of prime agricultural land west of Naracoorte has ignited fierce community debate, with questions mounting over land use, safety, transparency, and the long-term implications for the region.
Energy Estate Digital announces Tasmanian data centre hubs and digital infrastructure plans: Energy Estate
Energy Estate Digital is developing state of the art subsea data cable networks between Australia and New Zealand and key global hubs including California, Japan and India. These new networks are designed to support the growth of the AI economy and connect global hubs with new regions with access to the abundant land, energy and water resources.
“Out of date and out of whack”: Canavan calls for net zero modelling re-do
“Net zero means we have to completely change everything we do in a single generation, from how we drive, to what we eat and make ... There needs to be new modelling done on what the exact cost of net zero is. In Senate estimates, the government was unable to outline the cost of Australia reaching net zero. That is unacceptable. Australians deserve to know how much this radical proposal will cost them”: Senator Matt Canavan.
Asbestos scare hits wind energy sector
The safety of workers and the integrity of renewable energy projects across the state has been called into question last week, after a nationwide audit was launched following the discovery of asbestos in wind turbine components. The finding points to a lapse in compliance with Australian import laws, and has raised concerns the future of planned energy project development in the Hay and Balranald region.
Snowy locks in long term contracts
Snowy Hydro continues to strengthen its critical role underpinning reliability while enabling Australia's renewable energy transition with the signing of major energy contracts with Aula Energy and TagEnergy, securing new capacity in wind generation and grid-scale battery storage. The long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Aula Energy will see Snowy Hydro procure 120MW of renewable energy from the Carmody's Hill Wind Farm in South Australia.
Cook Government must provide answers on asbestos risk in regional wind farms: Love
Leader of The Nationals WA Shane Love MLA has called out the Cook Labor Government for its failure to provide clear answers or decisive action following revelations that asbestos has been discovered in the lift brake pads of wind turbines imported into Australia from China.
Destruction of nature for transmission infrastructure proves biodiversity offsets are nature negative: Higginson
Labor Premier Chris Minns and Environment Minister Penny Sharpe are facing criticism from multiple sides of politics over their handling of the Central West Orana REZ following revelations that scores of native vegetation had been cleared to make way for a renewable energy project. An estimated 670 trees have been cleared, including critically endangered hollow bearing trees which make up habitat for koalas, glossy black cockatoos, little eagles, squirrel gliders and eastern pygmy possums.
Farmers unite: Access denied
Carey Brennan. District farmers are resolute in their intention to deny access to Vicgrid and TCV employees trying to access their privately owned farm land along the VNI West 500 KV transmission line corridor. In the last two weeks, TCV badged employees have asked landowners for permission to enter farmland at Bungaluke, Glenloth, Teddywaddy, Wooroonook, Greens Creek, Wallaloo, Gre Gre and Normanville. All claim the right to access under Section 93 of the Essential Services Act but they are still required to have landowner permission to enter.
Albanese Government to pass historic environmental reforms: Albanese, Watt
The Albanese Government’s landmark environmental law reforms will pass the Parliament this week, heralding a new era for the environment and productivity in Australia. More than five years after Professor Graeme Samuel handed down his independent review into the nation’s 25-year-old environmental laws, the Government’s Environment Protection Reform Bill will be passed with the support of the Greens in the Senate.

