News
Scott Morrison to announce $50 million investment in a new business and research partnership involving the University of Newcastle and the University of NSW
May 10, 2022
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will visit the Hunter on Wednesday to announce a $50 million investment in a new business and research partnership that the government expects will create 1,600 jobs over the next four years.
Read MoreMaoneng announces plans for a $1.6billion, 1 gigawatt solar-battery hub for Merriwa
May 09, 2022
Renewable energy company Maoneng intends to build a $1.6 billion, one gigawatt solar and battery hub at Merriwa in the Upper Hunter.
Read MoreGovernment must support displaced Hunter workers during energy transition
May 08, 2022
The availability and effectiveness of retraining programs for displaced workers would be a key factor in the the success of the Hunter's energy transition, the head of Australia's peak career development body believes.
Read MoreResearch reveals 'transition' and 'just transition' are toxic terms for Hunter mining communities
May 07, 2022
To many in the Hunter, "transition" or "just transition" is a shorthand term for you are going to lose your job. The phrases, initially developed by the trade union movement in North America to describe interventions to secure workers rights and livelihoods when economies...
Read MoreMuswellbrook and Singleton mayors demand more help for post-Hunter coal as academics reveal concerns over 'just transition'
May 07, 2022
IN today's Power and the Passion instalments, reporter Donna Page investigates concerns about the much-discussed "transition" away from coal.
Read MoreRegions ready for energy switch: report
May 05, 2022
Extreme weather, the early closure of coal plants, and a world moving to cut carbon emissions have shifted regional Australians' views on moving away from fossil fuels, a new report says.
Read MoreNSW Budget estimates look at how Eraring power station's proposed 2025 closure could affect Myuna and Mandalong collieries
May 05, 2022
JOB threats to 750 Centennial Coal mineworkers were examined at NSW budget estimates yesterday, which also confirmed that coal exploration would no longer be allowed around historic Wollombi.
Read MoreIn Hunter, where coal is king, a Labor heartland seat faces a strong Coalition challenge
May 04, 2022
The ALP has held the NSW electorate at every election since 1910. But with seismic changes under way, the valley’s miners are eyeing the future with unease.
Read MorePower and Passion: The Hunter is in a race to cash in on an emerging global hydrogen market
May 04, 2022
The Hunter is in a race to cash in on an emerging global hydrogen market that will be worth an estimated $1.4 trillion by 2050. Goldman Sachs estimates that, if realised, the region's hydrogen exports could eventually replicate if not exceed the value of...
Read MoreJapan's Eurus Energy invests in Energy Estate's Hunter Hydrogen Network (H2N)
May 04, 2022
Energy Estate and Japan's Eurus Energy have signed an agreement that will have the renewable energy developer take an investment stake in the $2 billion Hunter Hydrogen Network (H2N).
Read MoreSwitching off
May 03, 2022
Shock, denial, stress, anger. Workers are struggling to comprehend the early closure of Australia’s largest coal-fired power station and the plan for what comes next.
Read MoreMaoneng unveils $1.6b solar-battery hub plan
May 02, 2022
Renewables and battery developer Maoneng has revealed ambitions to build an almost one gigawatt solar and battery farm in NSW’s Upper Hunter region in a $1.6 billion project that chief executive Morris Zhou says has attracted interest from infrastructure investors and construction groups.
Read MoreHunter Valley businesses say they don’t want Coalition’s gas plant
April 30, 2022
Hunter Valley clean energy businesses say there is no need for the federal Coalition government’s proposed new gas plant at Kurri Kurri, as a senior energy official also questioned the viability of the project and others in the industry said it would be impossible...
Read MoreEnergy Minister Angus Taylor announces funding to fuel Hunter hydrogen hub pilot projects
April 29, 2022
The federal government's latest investment in Newcastle's hydrogen "hub" will help pay for a pilot plant at Kooragang Island. Energy Minister Angus Taylor announced on Thursday that the government would spend $82 million on two hydrogen projects in Newcastle, in addition to the $100 million...
Read MoreHunter Valley to score 2,300 new jobs under Coalition’s green energy plan
April 28, 2022
The Hunter Valley could become a world-leading green energy hub, with thousands of new jobs sparked by a $82 million funding commitment. A job windfall awaits the Hunter Valley under a Coalition plan to make the region a global leader in green energy production...
Read MoreAGL and NuRock investigate plan to recycle millions of tonnes of coal ash from Bayswater Power Station into construction materials
April 26, 2022
AGL Energy has signed an historic agreement with waste site remediation company NuRock to investigate the feasibility of converting millions of tonnes of coal ash at Bayswater power station into into construction bricks.
Read MoreReplacing NSW coal plant with renewables would create thousands more jobs than gas, report says
April 25, 2022
Solar and wind could bring ‘jobs boom’ to regions that have previously depended on coal, Australian Conservation Foundation says
Read MorePower and the Passion: How the Hunter's mining voids could be turned into a network of man-made lakes
April 24, 2022
The turquoise blue water looks like a tropical vision rather than a rehabilitated coal mine in outback Western Australia. Stockton open cut mine closed in 1957 leaving behind a 30-metre deep void that gradually filled with water.
Read MorePower and the Passion: The challenge of rehabilitating Hunter mine sites for future generations
April 24, 2022
The Hunter's coal mines may have generated billions of dollars in regional and national income over recent decades, but a figure which rarely receives attention is the cost of cleaning up and rehabilitating the land once mining ends.
Read MoreEraring workers power to an uncertain future
April 23, 2022
Australia’s energy sector is evolving at a breakneck pace. But what will become of the communities that underpin it?
Read MoreMunmorah Power Station site touted for Waratah Super Battery
April 22, 2022
Swansea MP Yasmin Catley is backing the Munmorah Power Station site for the 700-megawatt Waratah Super Battery. Ms Catley has written to Treasurer and Energy Minister Matt Kean, asking him to consider putting the battery at the old Munmorah site.
Read MoreCoalmining regions urged to diversify, with Chinese slowdown in coal consumption 'imminent'
April 21, 2022
Energy economists are warning coalmining regions to make urgent changes to diversify, with a Chinese slowdown in coal consumption "imminent".
Read MorePOWER AND THE PASSION: Transition to renewable energy must consider generations of Newcastle families rely on Hunter Valley coal industry
April 20, 2022
IT was 1950 and Ron Peters was a newly minted trapper whose job it was to open the mine doors for the pit ponies hauling heavy skips and timber roof supports. Then, as now, the coal mining industry was booming in the Hunter.
Read MoreNewcastle University research shows nearly 65 per cent of the Hunter Valley floor taken up by mining leases
April 19, 2022
NEARLY 65 per cent of the Hunter Valley floor between Broke and Muswellbrook is taken up by mining leases, according to research from the University of Newcastle.
Read MoreMeet the coal miner who turned a redundancy into a booming cafe business in the Upper Hunter
April 11, 2022
SIMON Davis saw the writing on the wall early. A mechanic by trade, the career miner took a redundancy in 2016 after Drayton South failed to win approval following a major stoush with the Upper Hunter's thoroughbred horse breeding industry.
Read MorePhilip O'Neill: it's clear a new politics of coal has arrived
April 11, 2022
Everything is upturned ... the importance of coal to other sectors is diminished
Read MoreBusinesses in the Hunter want more from politicians than a fear campaign about job losses in the coal industry
April 11, 2022
Ampcontrol chief executive Rod Henderson is one of many business leaders in the New South Wales Hunter region who want more from the major parties this election than a fear campaign about job losses in the coal industry.
Read MoreVeteran real estate agents say Upper Hunter in the midst of first property boom not linked to the coal industry
April 09, 2022
PETER Dunn has been selling real estate in Singleton for more than 40 years. In that time he's never seen a boom not linked to the mining industry - until now. Traditionally property prices in the Upper Hunter have seesawed with the fortune of...
Read MorePOWER AND THE PASSION: Upper Hunter would be 'on its knees' without mining, says business leaders
April 09, 2022
WHOLE communities have been wiped off the map in the Upper Hunter as a result of the expansion of the region's mining boom and urbanisation.Some that remain, like Bulga, only exist because defiant and determined residents fought tooth and nail to save the areas...
Read MoreFederal government wants companies like Origin and AGL to give five years notice of plans to close power stations.
April 09, 2022
AGL would be required to give an extra 18months notice of its intention to close Bayswater Power Station under a rule change proposed by the federal government.
Read MoreA Hunter Renewable Energy Industrial Precinct could attract $28 billion in private investment, BZE report shows
April 08, 2022
A Hunter Renewable Energy Industrial Precinct could attract $28 billion in private investment, support 34,000 new jobs and earn $11 billion annually by 2032, an economic analysis of the project shows.
Read MoreIFM launches $4b green fund to target energy transition
April 07, 2022
Infrastructure giant IFM Investors intends to raise $4 billion by the end of next year for a new clean-energy focused fund to capitalise on voracious demand from clients to invest in green assets.
Read MoreNewcastle air quality: Data reveals Hunter coal fire power stations cause toxic emissions as power generation drops
April 06, 2022
The latest national pollution data shows several Hunter and Central Coast power stations have reported significant increases in toxic emissions while overall power generation dropped.
Read MoreZero emissions: Newcastle Transport to see first electric buses outside Sydney as part of NSW government plan
April 05, 2022
ELECTRIC buses are set to join Newcastle's service in the coming months as part of a government plan to transition the state's fleet. Newcastle Transport will receive three "zero emissions" buses - the first in NSW outside Sydney - which will have the capacity...
Read MoreProfessor James Murray-Parkes says bananas and lantana could be used for construction
April 04, 2022
Bananas and lantana have been highlighted as natural resources that can be harvested to help establish a zero-carbon economy. Professor James Murray-Parkes, a world-class applied physicist based in Newcastle, said using nature in a sustainable way would reduce energy use.
Read MorePOWER AND THE PASSION: What the Hunter must do to successfully transition to a clean energy future
April 04, 2022
The Hunter is at an historical crossroads. How the region meets the imminent challenges associated with the closure of coal-fired power stations coupled with the decline of its economic lifeline, the coal industry, will shape its destiny for generations to come.
Read MorePOWER AND THE PASSION: Future of Newcastle coal industry after renewable energy transition
April 03, 2022
MORE than 2.78 billion tonnes of coal have been gouged out of the Hunter Valley since the year 2000, enough to fill Lake Macquarie more than three times over.
Read MorePOWER AND THE PASSION: Aerial photos of reveal true scale of Hunter coal mining and perspective of shift to renewable energy
April 03, 2022
On the tarmac near Scone airport, readying to squeeze into the back of a Cessna 182 (which is a very small plane), I can see a thoroughbred galloping along a white fence on the hill, a few paddocks over.
Read MoreFormer mine manager Michael White is committed to saving the Hunter Valley industry for future generations
April 02, 2022
Michael White's picturesque Wybong property is a far cry from the pits where he spent four decades building a successful career as a mining engineer and manager.
Read MorePOWER AND THE PASSION: Muswellbrook former miner Pete Kennedy reveals what life is like living next door to a Hunter coal mine
April 02, 2022
EX-MINER Pete Kennedy lives "a 303 rifle shot" from what he describes as 'Mt un-Pleasant", which he can see over the back fence of his suburban Muswellbrook home.
Read MoreThe first of Liddell power station's four 500 megawatt turbines will be shut down on Friday.
April 01, 2022
The first of Liddell power station's four 500 megawatt turbines will be shut down on Friday, marking a major milestone in the state's clean energy transition.
Read MorePort of Newcastle's clean energy projects to be supercharged by a $100 million federal budget allocation
March 31, 2022
The federal government's $100 million investment in the development of Port of Newcastle's energy precinct will also supercharge plans to create a $3.1 billion hydrogen hub capable of creating 5000 jobs.
Read MoreAnti-coal group Lock The Gate opposes NSW Minerals Council voice on Royalties for Rejuvenation panel
March 28, 2022
ENVIRONMENTAL activists are calling for the removal of a NSW Minerals Council representative from the Hunter's Royalties for Rejuvenation expert panel. The eight-person panel was established by the NSW Government to guide spending from the $25 million Royalties for Rejuvenation fund.
Read MoreHunter and Illawarra regions set to become the centre of hydrogen production in NSW
March 28, 2022
The Hunter and Illawarra regions are set to become the centre of hydrogen production in the state after a government plan to produce energy there ended up attracting production proposals more than eight times its target.
Read MorePush for NSW Mining Act amendment to include Hunter transition authority
March 24, 2022
An independent Hunter authority is needed to coordinate the economic, social and environmental challenges associated with the region's clean energy transition, a regional delegation has told the state's political powerbrokers.
Read MoreMolycop uses coffee grounds as an alternatives to coking coal for green steel production
March 22, 2022
Wastes including plastic and coffee grounds now join rubber tyres as alternative sources of coke and coal as previously vital ingredients as carbon sources for steel making, a research project undertaken at Newcastle steel manufacturer Molycop has shown.
Read More500MW battery at Liddell Power Station site will kick start Hunter Energy Park
March 20, 2022
The transformation of AGL's Liddell Power Station into a world-leading clean energy and employment hub has taken a significant step forward with the state government's approval of a 500 megawatt grid-scale battery for the site.
Read MoreOceanex Energy says the Novocastrian wind farm will create 300 new full time jobs and 3000 construction jobs
March 12, 2022
The proponents of a proposed 2000 megawatt wind farm off the Hunter coast believe it will create 300 full time jobs over the project's 30 year lifespan. Oceanex Energy briefed HunterNet on Wednesday about its plans for the $10billion Novocastrian Wind Farm, which would...
Read MoreCommittee for the Hunter releases launches economic diversification plan for the region
March 07, 2022
The Hunter's rebirth following the closure of the BHP steelworks should serve as inspiration to meet the challenges of transforming the region into a global leader of the emerging clean energy economy, a new report argues.
Read MoreKooragang green hydrogen plant would help power Orica ammonia plant as part of Origin Energy's transition plan out of coal-fired electricity
March 01, 2022
ORICA and Eraring power station owner Origin Energy have announced a formal investigation into the potential for a hydrogen production plant on Kooragang Island driven by renewably generated electricity. In separate statements yesterday morning, the chemical giant and the energy company unveiled their intentions...
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