News
National Electricity Market data puts Kurri Kurri gas plant's viability in question
July 23, 2021
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
July 22, 2021
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
July 22, 2021
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
July 02, 2021
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...
Read MoreFailure to model costs of climate change to coal, gas ‘beggars belief’
June 29, 2021
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
June 27, 2021
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
June 24, 2021
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
June 24, 2021
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
June 24, 2021
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
June 21, 2021
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...
Read MoreHunter Councils commit to climate change
June 18, 2021
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
June 17, 2021
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
June 15, 2021
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
June 09, 2021
Coal production in NSW could end within 20 years as the shift towards clean energy picks up pace, the state's Treasury has warned. The latest NSW intergenerational report also forecasts that coal mining royalties in NSW are expected to more than halve by 2061.
Read MoreNSW coal industry would die in 20 years, worst-case scenario predicts
June 08, 2021
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
June 08, 2021
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
June 08, 2021
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
May 27, 2021
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
May 20, 2021
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
May 17, 2021
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
May 17, 2021
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
May 06, 2021
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
May 05, 2021
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
April 28, 2021
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...
Read MoreImpact of China’s brutal coal ban revealed
April 27, 2021
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
April 26, 2021
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
April 23, 2021
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
April 23, 2021
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
April 22, 2021
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...
Read MoreMulti-million dollar fighting fund proposed for NSW mining towns
April 20, 2021
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.
April 19, 2021
Sixty wind turbines capable of producing 336 megawatts of power have been earmarked for land outside of Muswellbrook. The $569 million project by renewable energy company Epuron is the latest in a torrent of green energy projects proposed for the Hunter.
Read MoreNSW Treasury projects coal industry to decline over the next 40 years
April 19, 2021
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?
March 25, 2021
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
March 22, 2021
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...
Read MoreCQUni study finds coal mining ‘increasingly questionable’
March 18, 2021
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
March 16, 2021
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
March 15, 2021
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
March 14, 2021
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
March 12, 2021
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
March 11, 2021
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
March 11, 2021
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
March 11, 2021
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...
Read MoreHunter Joint Organisation calls for increased investment to prepare for power station closures
March 11, 2021
The likely early closure of coal-fired power stations should trigger accelerated diversification investment in the Hunter economy, the Hunter Joint Organisation has argued.
Read MoreChina expected to favour green tech over coal in new five-year plan
March 04, 2021
China is today the world’s largest emitter of planet-heating gases, responsible for about 28 per cent of total global emissions.
Read MoreNo regrets: Hunter Jobs Alliance to launch major report into economic change
March 04, 2021
The Hunter's economic transformation is being hindered by a 'culture war' over coal and energy policy, a new discussion paper about structural adjustment in the region argues.
Read MoreRenewable Energy Sector Board to boost local manufacturing and jobs
February 23, 2021
Local jobs and manufacturing opportunities in the renewable energy industry are set to boom following the launch of the State’s first Renewable Energy Sector Board, unveiled by the NSW Government today.
Read MoreJoel Fitzgibbon doesn’t speak for me or the valley I know
February 16, 2021
Joel Fitzgibbon has been creating political mayhem by selling a false impression of the Hunter region. His high-profile focus on coal would lead you to believe the Hunter is populated by black-faced, hard hat-wearing underground miners straight out of the 19th century.
Read MoreThe Business Part 3: Beyond the Coal Economy
February 12, 2021
How the power of music is being used in one mining town in the Hunter Valley to create the workforce of the future.
Read MoreCoal communities deserve honesty about the future: Bowen
February 10, 2021
Coal is under threat, regardless of what domestic climate change policies Australia adopts, and coal miners and their communities are owed honesty by their political leaders, shadow climate minister Chris Bowen says.
Read MoreHydrogen technology can be used to retrofit ageing coal-fired power stations
February 10, 2021
The Upper Hunter could be home to a manufacturing plant producing hydrogen-based energy modules that can be retrofitted to large industries, including coal-fired power stations.
Read More