NSW Parliamentary committee says the NSW Government should support Newcastle Container Terminal push
The NSW government should work to remove barriers preventing the development of a container terminal by the Port of Newcastle, a parliamentary committee into the sustainability of the state's energy supply and resources has recommended.
Read moreWe must start planning now for our energy transition, to ensure no-one is left behind, says Independent Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich
"Longstanding coal communities, like those in the Hunter and Illawarra regions, have powered our state for a long time. Lack of planning and economic diversification by government has delayed the energy transition, at a great cost to their health, and the environment.
Read moreTomago Aluminium to go green
The country’s biggest electricity user is aiming to switch to a predominantly renewable power supply in 2029 in a groundbreaking move that would dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of one of NSW’s largest carbon emitters.
Read moreBlackRock joins Citi and HSBC in plan to close coal plants early
BlackRock and other major financial institutions are working on plans to accelerate the closure of coal-fired power plants in Asia in a bid to phase out the use of the worst man-made contributors to climate change.
Read moreTougher conditions to force mining companies to rehabilitate sites in NSW
Mining companies will be forced to show plans for the ongoing rehabilitation of their mines and to report on their progress as the NSW government moves to tighten rules around environmental management.
Read moreTwo in three coal jobs to go in the next 30 years
The global move away from fossil fuels will cost two in three workers their jobs across regions such as the Hunter Valley and central Queensland over the next three decades, according to a report that argues the impact will be even worse without investor support for a fair transition.
Read moreWind and solar set new production records as they reshape Australia’s grid
Wind and solar have set new production records in Australia’s main grid, for average generation over a quarter, record output in a single interval, and a record renewable energy share of 57 per cent in one interval in April.
Read moreNational Electricity Market data puts Kurri Kurri gas plant's viability in question
Fresh doubts have been raised about the viability of the federal government's proposed Kurri Kurri gas peaking plant following the release of new data showing demand for gas is declining.
Read moreAustralia has huge potential to develop offshore windfarms near existing substations, report says
Hunter and Latrobe valleys considered particularly suitable sites as union says industry could offer oil and gas workers a career transition
Read moreJapan’s clean energy push a threat to Australian coal, LNG exports
Australia’s gas and coal producers are facing greater uncertainty in their top market as Japan drafts new targets to slash demand for the two fossil fuels by 2030.
Read moreFalling cost of renewables creates coal test for federal government
Output of wind and solar power is at record levels as renewables continue to squeeze fossil fuels from the energy market, new figures reveal, setting up a test for the federal government as re-elected Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce continues to push to prolong coal use.
Read moreFailure to model costs of climate change to coal, gas ‘beggars belief’
Australia’s 40-year economic outlook is forecasting dwindling demand for some of the nation’s most valuable exports including coal and natural gas after China, Japan and South Korea unveiled targets to achieve net-zero emissions.
Read moreHydrogen in Newcastle: Parliamentary inquiry told governments must move fast
The potential economic and environmental rewards presented by emerging domestic and international hydrogen industries are enormous. But the state and regions such as the Hunter need to move fast to seize those opportunities or they could be lost elsewhere.
Read moreRenewables the priority as coal dominance ends by 2040: AEMO
The operator of the nation’s electricity grid said it is powerless to delay the closure of coal-fired power plants in Australia and warned renewable developers not to cut corners as a wave of new clean generation connects to the system.
Read moreHunter Jobs Alliance report calls for the Hunter statutory authority to create jobs
A new report has endorsed the need to establish a 'Hunter Valley Authority' to support workers and create new jobs as the region heads into a period of unprecedented economic change.
Read moreMalcolm Turnbull calls for NSW Parliamentary inquiry into 'inadequate' mine remediation bonds
Former Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull is calling for a New South Wales Parliamentary investigation into "inadequate" coal mine rehabilitation bonds.
Read moreMark Vaile withdrawal is proof Whitehaven Coal is untouchably toxic
The outrage that led to Mark Vaile today declaring he will not accept the role of Chancellor at the University of Newcastle demonstrates that the company he chairs - Whitehaven Coal - is too toxic to be associated with public leadership, according to Lock the Gate Alliance.
Read moreHunter Councils commit to climate change
The Hunter region has committed to collaboratively tackling the shared challenges of changing global energy markets and climate change impacts by joining Australia’s largest local government climate network the Cities Power Partnership.
Read moreNSW to invest $380 million to turbocharge renewable energy rollout
The Berejiklian government will spend an extra $380 million to help expedite investment into the state’s five renewable energy zones and smooth the way for an increase in solar, wind and storage projects.
Read more$108m set aside in NSW budget to remediate disused mines
The Berejiklian government will spend almost $108 million to remediate the state’s disused mine sites in a move welcomed by both environmentalists and the mining industry.
Read moreNSW Treasury Intergenerational Report plots coal's final exit
NSW coal industry would die in 20 years, worst-case scenario predicts
Coal jobs would disappear entirely in NSW within 20 years if international demand shrinks, according to one of three scenarios about the future of the industry prepared for the government by the state’s Treasury Department.
Read moreAGL backs solar thermal plants with Liddell move
AGL Energy will construct a small-scale solar thermal storage project at its Liddell coal site in NSW as it seeks to develop a string of new generation sources to replace capacity once the plant shuts in early 2023.
Read moreAGL unveils plan to transform Liddell coal site with solar, hydro plant
Australia’s biggest power supplier, AGL, is proposing to build a solar-and-hydro energy facility at the site of its Liddell coal-fired power station in NSW once the plant closes down in 2023.
Read more‘We’re burying banknotes’: Ross Garnaut rubbishes government’s $600m gas plant
Ross Garnaut has slammed the federal government’s $600 million backing of a new gas-fired plant as a “waste of money” and likened it to the exercise of burying money and asking the unemployed to dig it up as a way of keeping them productive.
Read moreHunter community groups to decide where money goes
Community organisations in the Hunter Valley will be part of an expert panel to decide where money goes through the NSW Government's Royalties for Rejuvenation Fund.
Read moreCoal no more: it's time to future-proof our communities
If I was to describe in one word, what the upper Hunter Valley needs to be in the future, the word would be innovative.
Read moreHunter Valley: Green strategy for coal country
A consortium of major domestic and international energy players has devised a $2bn plan to fast-track Australia’s first hydrogen valley in the heart of the nation’s biggest coal province, using renewable energy to build an export industry and secure jobs in NSW.
Read moreHunter coal miners don’t have enough funds for land rehabilitation
Coal mining companies in the Hunter Valley have failed to set aside enough money to fill in their massive voids or maintain the vegetation required to restore the landscape once their mines come to the end of their lives.
Read moreNAB's Port of Newcastle funding tied to green sustainability goals
National Australia Bank has agreed to help finance the world's largest coal export terminal and has linked loans to a new set of social and environmental goals.
Read moreCoal the loser as power prices smashed
Mushrooming rooftop solar and mild summer weather have driven demand for power from the grid to the lowest for 19 years for the peak summer quarter, cutting wholesale prices by up to 68 per cent and pushing major coal and gas power generators such as AGL Energy to the brink.
Read moreImpact of China’s brutal coal ban revealed
Australia's coal trade with China has plummeted from more than $1 billion a month to just $30 million in the first months of the year, as shocking new figure reveal the depth of Beijing's economic wrath.
Read moreCoal still the focus for politicians while business outpaces them on renewables transition
When it comes to coal, politicians seem stuck in a short-term election cycle while the corporate sector is getting on with the business of transitioning to renewables.
Read moreSouth Korea's Moon vows to end new funding for overseas coal projects
SEOUL, April 23 (Reuters) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced on Thursday his country would end all new financing for overseas coal projects and would soon set a more ambitious schedule for slashing carbon emissions.
Read moreChina will phase down coal consumption: Xi
China will start phasing down coal use from 2026 as part of its efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions, President Xi Jinping said at a summit of global leaders, a move that disappointed campaigners hoping for more ambitious pledges.
Read moreThe Hunter Region should have its own energy transition fund
The breathtaking expediency of politicians and aspirants in the race for the seat of the Upper Hunter has been something to behold. We've seen politicians of different stripes declare convenient support for coal in recent weeks as they contend for the mine-heavy seat left vacant by Michael Johnsen.
Multi-million dollar fighting fund proposed for NSW mining towns
A treasure chest of mining royalties will be set aside in a future fund exclusively for coal towns to drive job creation and community support as the power mix changes in coming decades.
Read moreThe 17,000 hectare project area transverses the Muswellbrook, Singleton and Upper Hunter local government areas.
NSW Treasury projects coal industry to decline over the next 40 years
Coal mining in the Hunter Valley is set to decline, possibly rapidly, in coming decades, according to the NSW Treasury, market analysis and one of the region’s biggest miners.
Read moreWill Decarbonising the Hunter Valley Create More Secure Jobs?
As coal mines close, Newcastle environmentalist and founding member of the Hunter Jobs Alliance Georgina Woods is on the frontlines of the fight for sustainable employment.
Read moreNew analysis shows Hunter's economic outlook is more unpredictable than most
There are about 700 unique job types in the Hunter's economy that each require 280 different skill and knowledge sets, a new study of the region's economy shows.
There are also 82 different jobs in the mining sector, which employs 9,300 workers. Eighty per cent of those workers are employed as drillers, miners, metal fitters, machinists and truck drivers.
CQUni study finds coal mining ‘increasingly questionable’
CQ University researchers have found the coal mining industry’s lucrative pay packets will be overshadowed by negative long-term costs to regional communities.
Read moreEnvironment minister Matt Kean says the government will create a circular economy for coal ash
The state government will use its purchasing power to drive demand for materials containing recycled coal ash, environment minister Matt Kean has told Parliament.
Read moreFinding a way forward for coal-reliant communities
As many of us in Victoria's Latrobe Valley have been expecting, EnergyAustralia last week announced that it will be closing the Yallourn coal-fired power plant in 2028, four years earlier than scheduled.
Read moreAustralia must take right path on power plant closures
Last week’s announcement that the Yallourn power plant will close earlier than previously expected raises some big questions: will it be replaced in time, and are more such announcements around the corner? The answers have serious implications for not just Victorians but all Australians.
Read moreCoal plant closures loom large as NSW backs hydrogen for the Hunter
The future of NSW’s coal-fired power plants is under increasing threat from cheap renewable energy, which this week forced Victoria’s Yallourn coal plant to bring forward its closure date as analysts warn the end may come even sooner.
Read moreBetween a black rock and a hard place
For more than 100 years, Collie has dug up coal. But Australia's demand for the black river of gold is drying up. The lights, the bells, and the boom gate coming down.
Read moreEnergy Security Board warns more coal power stations face closure
The Energy Security Board has warned that Australia’s remaining coal fleet could be forced to close earlier than expected.
Read moreCessnock mines for a future away from coal, as the city's last colliery closes
AS he stood outside the Austar coal mine near the village of Paxton, Allan Stapleford gazed through the trees to his past. For 18 years until 1993, Allan Stapleford worked in this mine as a fitter, heading underground, as part of a team digging into the rich Greta coal seam.
Hunter Joint Organisation calls for increased investment to prepare for power station closures
The likely early closure of coal-fired power stations should trigger accelerated diversification investment in the Hunter economy, the Hunter Joint Organisation has argued.
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