The Energy Week

This week was all about data centres and system security. The 2025 Transition Plan for System Security from the Australian Energy Market Operator issued a warning on shortfalls in investment as the market decouples from a reliance on coal generators for system security. While the demand from data centres, while significant, might not be as bad as the numbers suggest. 

This week the pre-Christmas deluge took hold with an eleventh-hour deal on environment protection laws, a rethink on the reliability standard and fresh warnings of the step-up in projects needed to meet emissions reduction goals.

This week saw a COPitulation and a call from bankers to stay the course on net zero.

Bipartisan support for net zero was fractured, and we learnt Australia’s biggest battery project might not be the shock absorber planners were expecting it to be, in a week that saw the energy wars return to the front page of major mastheads.

A Melbourne Cup day announcement of free electricity during the solar peak became the front runner for energy surprise of the year as insiders warned of unintended consequences.

This week the home battery program hit new highs while grid-scale wind and solar projects reaching a final investment decision hit a new low.

This week started with a landmark critical minerals deal with the US and ended with warnings the deal would fail to pay off if long awaited environmental planning reforms fail to pass parliament.

The sluggishness of the transition hit home this week as Origin Energy flagged greater volatility than anticipated, and a new report from the World Meteorological Agency showed carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere hit a record high in 2024.

Attention turned to Queensland this week with a federal government bailout for Glencore’s Mount Isa copper smelter, and the release of the state’s new energy roadmap.

This week saw the closure timeline for Queensland’s largest coal-fired power station brought forward, and the life of a South Australian gas fired power station extended,  as quarterly grid data showed the transition was still a story of one step forward, two steps back.

Climate news dominated this week as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made his pitch for Australia to host COP31, and US President Donald Trump took his ‘green energy scam’ remarks to the UN General Assembly.

This week started with a dire warning on the costs to Australia’s people and property of climate change, and ended with a new Net Zero Plan from the government pledging to cut emissions by between 62 and 70% by 2035.

Each Saturday, the Energy Week delivers a concise and insightful summary of the key stories from Australia's dynamic energy sector in around 5 minutes. We cut through the noise to deliver the biggest developments in policy, technology, and project investment.