Michael Mazengarb on Muck Rack

Michael Mazengarb

Sydney
As seen in: Medium, HuffPost, Substack, Sydney Morning Herald, The Canberra Times, Thomson Reuters Foundation, RenewEconomy, Climate Home News, Independent Australia, The Saturday Paper and
Covers:  renewable energy, climate change, state politics, federal politics, electric vehicles.
Renewable Energy and Climate Change policy | Climate Law. Under-appreciated sports tweets.
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Articles by Michael Mazengarb

Consultants might profess a commitment to net zero, but they are core to fossil fuel propaganda playbook

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
The fossil fuel industry playbook is so predictable, it is almost tedious. They continue to plan for ever-expanding oil, gas and coal production. They seek to win over governments by commissioning modelling that exaggerates the economic benefits new projects could deliver, all while ignoring the catastrophic harm fossil fuels will cause to the world’s climate systems and vulnerable communities.
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Yes, Santos was cleared of greenwashing. But a climate law reckoning still looms for fossil fuels

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
The judgment in the long-running greenwashing case brought against Australian gas producer Santos – published earlier this week – was, on its face, a blow to efforts to hold major fossil fuel companies accountable for climate change.
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The shocking spend on astroturfing in the 2025 Australian election

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
Evidence of a new threat to climate information integrity has emerged in the latest batch of federal political donation disclosures. Fossil fuel interests spent more than $7 million to back groups that spread misinformation and attempted to dissuade voters from supporting pro-climate action candidates at the 2025 federal election.
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Buyer Beware: Carbon credit platforms repeating ills of the past

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
The claims and promises of carbon offset schemes are falling so deep into the category of being ‘too good to be true’, that it’s becoming a genuine consumer protection concern.
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Why all Australians have a powerful climate vote this election

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
As Australians begin casting their votes in one of the most consequential federal elections in more than a decade, it’s a critical time to be reminded that every Australian voter has a powerful vote that matters on climate. The second presidency of Donald Trump looms large over the Australian election – raising fears about the local implications of Trump’s attacks on democracy, the global economy, and the United States’ relationships with its allies.
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Beginning of the end for carbon offsets? Parents take energy giant to court

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
A lawsuit launched by a group of Australian parents against one of the country’s largest energy companies could be about to deliver a mortal blow to Australia’s carbon offset industry and the carbon neutral certification scheme run by the Australian Government.
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By Michael Mazengarb
| Pearls and Irritations
The responsibility for Australia’s climate and energy policies have effectively been handed over to a group of Nationals MPs. It’s a travesty, but it shouldn’t be a surprise. Australias climate policies are yet again in a state of chaos, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison abdicating his leadership role on climate change one of the biggest environmental, economic, and political crises Australia will face.
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By Michael Mazengarb
| Pearls and Irritations
LNG producers insist they bankroll crucial government services but the royalties they pay are paltry and the jobs they create are relatively few. The bulk of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production in Western Australia is subject to little or even zero tax, undermining the fossil fuel industry’s claims that its revenues are critical to the funding of government services.
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Wind and solar help Australia slash emissions, but no credit to Coalition

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Pearls and Irritations
Strong investment in new wind and solar projects, the effects of Covid-19 and the ongoing decline of the coal sector helped to drive Australias greenhouse gas emissions lower in 2020 but the early signs of a Covid-19 recovery bounce-back are already starting to show. According to the federal governmentslatest quarterly update of Australias national greenhouse gas inventory, Australias emissions fell by 5 per cent in 2020 to 499 million tonnes.
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Australia ranked dead last in world for climate action in latest UN report

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Pearls and Irritations
Australia has been ranked dead last for climate action in the latest Sustainable Development Report, which assesses the progress of countries towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In the latest edition of the report, produced by the UN-backed Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Australia received the lowest score awarded to any of the 193 members of the United Nations for the level of climate action, a withering repudiation of the Coalition governments climate efforts.
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Joel Fitzgibbon and renewable energy in the Hunter.(Renew Economy Nov 17, 2020)

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Pearls and Irritations
The New South Wales has made a new commitment to transform the now coal-dependent Hunter Region as a hub of new renewable energy and storage projects as part of its broad and ground-breaking plans to transition the states grid from coal to renewables. Joel Fitzgibbon is clinging to the past.
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Is Australia's "carbon neutral" scheme being abandoned?

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
After the Albanese government spent half the parliamentary term promising to overhaul Australia’s government-run carbon neutral certification scheme – data obtained by Tempests and Terawatts shows the Climate Active program is in a state of decline. Climate Active, it appears, is being abandoned by corporate participants and the federal government alike, and with caretaker mode now in effect, the public remains in the dark as to what reforms the Albanese government may have made to the scheme.
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Yes, Climate Change is pushing Australia’s cyclones southward

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By Michael Mazengarb
| tempestsandterawatts.com
Recent years have unleashed a flurry of “unprecedented” climate change fuelled disasters on Australian cities and communities. Bushfires, floods, heatwaves and drought. Cyclone Alfred is presently bearing down on the communities of Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Byron Bay, Lismore and Coffs Harbour, and others. The impacts of climate disasters are certainly not foreign to these communities, but cyclones are a much rarer occurrence.
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Albanese’s climate report card: "D for delivery" as progress stalls

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
With the next federal election just months away and climate policies yet again set to weigh heavily on voters’ minds, analysis of the Albanese government’s track record in cutting emissions shows progress has all but stalled. In two-and-a-half years in power, the Albanese government has achieved a slower rate of emissions reduction than those of preceding Coalition governments.
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Trump’s "drill baby, drill" plan is a disaster for energy security, and prices

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
In July 2022, I was covering the Sydney Energy Forum for Renew Economy. The forum was convened by the then newly elected Australian Labor Government and brought together Australia’s major trade partners to collaborate on opportunities in clean energy supply chains. At the time, global energy markets were reeling from the impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which had disrupted energy supplies to Europe.
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Emissions to impact: How climate science will hold fossil fuel companies to account

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
Two weeks into 2025 and it already feels like a turning point for climate action – for good and bad. We start the year with news that the Earth experienced yet another ‘warmest year on record’ and global temperatures surpassed the 1.5-degree mark for the first time. Los Angeles is on fire in the middle of winter, and Donald Trump is returning as US President.
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How Santos targets climate activists with ‘lawfare’

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By Michael Mazengarb
| The Saturday Paper Verified
Major Australian oil and gas company Santos is deploying “scorched earth” tactics in contentious legal proceedings that could silence future opposition to the fossil fuel industry’s expansion plans in Australia. The proceedings are the aftermath of Munkara v Santos, an unsuccessful attempt by a group of Tiwi Islanders to protect areas of claimed cultural significance for First Nations people from a new gas pipeline being constructed by Santos.
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Why Harris v Trump is the everything-but-climate election

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
The 2024 US Presidential election could have dramatic consequences for global climate action, so why has championing the fossil fuel industry become common ground for Harris and Trump? The wave of Democratic enthusiasm that Kamala Harris now rides has transformed the Presidential race. Harris now commands a slight edge in the polling, but after being burnt by the polls in 2016, the Democrats are expressing optimism but not complacency.
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New data shows Labor fuelling NT election campaign kitty with gas cash

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
New donation disclosures have revealed the Northern Territory Labor Party has pocketed almost $60,000 in donations from key gas industry players, just months out from a critical Territory election. The next Northern Territory election will be held on 24 August, with NT Labor hoping to be re-elected for a third consecutive term.
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The network of conservative think-tanks out to kill the switch to renewables

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By Michael Mazengarb, Christina MacPherson
| Antinuclear
The network of conservative think-tanks out to kill the switch to renewables Michael Mazengarb, Feb 28, 2024 https://reneweconomy.com.au/the-network-of-conservative-think-tanks-out-to-kill-the-switch-to-renewables/ Australia’s renewable energy and emissions reduction plans are being targeted by coordinated campaigns from conservative “think tanks”, as the Coalition embraces nuclear and its MPs rail against all forms of large scale renewables and transmission lines being built as part of the...
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The network of conservative think-tanks out to kill the switch to renewables

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Renewables News
By Michael Mazengarb Australia’s renewable energy plans are being targeted by coordinated campaigns from conservative “think tanks”, as the Coalition embraces nuclear and rails against large scale renewables and transmission lines. The post The network of conservative think-tanks out to kill the switch to renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy. Read Full Article Here For more great articles: Renew Economy (Visited 1 times, 1 visits today) Comments comments
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The network of conservative think-tanks out to kill the switch to renewables

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
Australia’s renewable energy and emissions reduction plans are being targeted by coordinated campaigns from conservative “think tanks”, as the Coalition embraces nuclear and its MPs rail against all forms of large scale renewables and transmission lines being built as part of the clean energy transition.
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“Obvious solution:” NSW urged to unlock demand side potential ahead of Eraring closure

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Renewables News
By Michael Mazengarb With Eraring set to close, the NSW Government has an “obvious” solution to deliver lower cost electricity and higher reliability. The post “Obvious solution:” NSW urged to unlock demand side potential ahead of Eraring closure appeared first on RenewEconomy. Read Full Article Here For more great articles: Renew Economy (Visited 1 times, 1 visits today) Comments comments
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"Obvious solution:" NSW urged to unlock demand side potential ahead of Eraring closure

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
The NSW Government is failing to take advantage of opportunities to cut energy costs and manage peak electricity demand pressures through inadequate policies and incentives to support ‘demand side’ participation (DSP) of big energy users, according to a new report. In a report published on Thursday, analysts Nexa Advisory argues the NSW government is ignoring opportunities to use demand side management to relieve market pressures.
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UQ start-up finds way to detect solar faults in “sea of a million panels”

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Renewables News
By Michael Mazengarb “The challenge with large solar farms is detecting any faulty or underperforming solar panels hidden in a sea of millions.” UQ start-up says it has found a way. The post UQ start-up finds way to detect solar faults in “sea of a million panels” appeared first on RenewEconomy. Read Full Article Here For more great articles: Renew Economy (Visited 1 times, 1 visits today) Comments comments
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Battery storage and green hydrogen could be key to cutting transmission bottlenecks

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Renewables News
By Michael Mazengarb Emerging technologies like energy storage, green hydrogen and digitisation platforms may be the key to dodging a global network infrastructure supply crunch and avoiding delays in the energy transition. The post Battery storage and green hydrogen could be key to cutting transmission bottlenecks appeared first on RenewEconomy. Read Full Article Here For more great articles: Renew Economy (Visited 1 times, 1 visits today) Comments comments
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Battery storage and green hydrogen could be key to cutting transmission bottlenecks

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
Emerging clean energy technologies like energy storage, green hydrogen and digitisation platforms may be the key to dodging a global network infrastructure supply crunch and avoiding delays in the energy transition.
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Cannon-Brookes taps new investment talent as Grok zeroes in on decarbonisation

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Renewables News
By Michael Mazengarb Announcing a “refined” investment strategy and new talent, Grok Ventures says it will exclusively invest in opportunities “right across the climate capital stack.” The post Cannon-Brookes taps new investment talent as Grok zeroes in on decarbonisation appeared first on RenewEconomy. Read Full Article Here For more great articles: Renew Economy (Visited 1 times, 1 visits today) comments Tagged: * Renew Economy™, Climate, Global Warming, Investing, Renewable
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Coal generator to face court over blackouts caused by “catastrophic” explosion

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Renewables News
By Michael Mazengarb AER is suing the operator of Callide C, one of the youngest coal plants on the NEM, over a 2021 incident that left huge parts of Queensland without power. The post Coal generator to face court over blackouts caused by “catastrophic” explosion appeared first on RenewEconomy. Read Full Article Here For more great articles: Renew Economy (Visited 1 times, 1 visits today) Comments comments
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Queensland wind farm delay raises red flags with green groups, as lines blur on environment

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By Michael Mazengarb, Sophie Vorrath Verified
| Renewables News
By Michael Mazengarb & Sophie Vorrath Green groups question further delay to environmental approvals for a Queensland wind farm, as industry and governments struggle to balance the urgent need to decarbonise with protecting nature and keeping communities on side. The post Queensland wind farm delay raises red flags with green groups, as lines blur on environment appeared first on RenewEconomy. Read Full Article Here For more great articles: Renew Economy (Visited 1 times, 1 visits today) comments
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Millions in fossil fuel money rained on major political parties last year

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Renewables News
By Michael Mazengarb Santos, Woodside, Adani and Gina Rinehart feature among donors to major political parties in 2023. The post Millions in fossil fuel money rained on major political parties last year appeared first on RenewEconomy. Read Full Article Here For more great articles: Renew Economy (Visited 1 times, 1 visits today) Comments comments
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Millions in fossil fuel money continues to rain on major parties

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By Michael Mazengarb
Fossil fuel companies continued to pour millions of dollars in gifts onto the major political parties, with the Labor Party alone collecting more than $863,000 in donations from oil, gas and coal producers in the first full year of the Albanese Government. The Australian Electoral Commission released the latest batch of political party financial disclosures on Thursday morning, detailing the donations received by political parties between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023.
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Almost 90 per cent of Australia's carbon neutral claims underpinned by 'junk' international offsets

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Substack
You're hearing it more and more: a major corporate brand, or your local city council, proudly declaring they've committed to net zero and gone 'carbon neutral'. The corporate sector is facing mounting pressure to show that it is helping to tackle the climate crisis and supporting efforts to decarbonise its activities.
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Fossil fuels poured $1.3m into Australia's major parties. The climate movement fought back

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Medium
Climate and energy minister Chris Bowen and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese check out an electric Harley Davidson during the 2022 election campaign (Credit: Michael Mazengarb) New data from the Electoral Commission shows how fossil fuel giants funded the election campaigns of the major parties in 2022. But, it also marked a financial fightback by the climate movement. The start of February marks the day the AEC releases to the public details of the political donations ...
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Fossil giants tipped funds into major parties, but then the climate movement fought back

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Renewables News
By Michael Mazengarb While data shows the fossil fuel industry yet again pouring money into Australia’s major parties, the 2022 federal election changed the political donations game. The post Fossil giants tipped funds into major parties, but then the climate movement fought back appeared first on RenewEconomy. Read Full Article Here For more great articles: Renew Economy (Visited 1 times, 1 visits today) Comments comments
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Fossil fuels poured $1.3+ million into the major parties in 2022, but then the climate movement fought back

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Substack
This is a bit of a special edition of tempests and terawatts as I do a deep dive into the freshly released political donation disclosure data published on Wednesday by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). The start of February marks the day the AEC releases to the public details of the political donations made during the previous financial year. Today, we got to see the donations from the 2021-22 year for the first time.
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Energy Minister Bowen frees ARENA from Coalition's fossil fuel mandate

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By Michael Mazengarb
| Independent Australia Verified
A new set of regulations are designed to increase renewable energy use and take up in Australia, writes Michael Mazengarb. THE ALBANESE Government has moved to reverse the former Morrison Government’s attempts to redirect renewable energy funding to non-renewable technologies, issuing a replacement set of regulations to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
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Regional airline Rex plans to go electric with aircraft conversion

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By Michael Mazengarb
| TheDriven
Regional Australian airline Rex could begin offering all-electric flights soon after striking a deal to retrofit some of its existing aircraft fleet with electric propulsion. Rex this week announced a partnership with Australian-based Dovetail Electric Aviation to “pioneer” the conversion of turbine aircraft to electric and zero emission propulsion.
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Australia's fossil fuel producers are revelling in surging profits

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
Australia’s fossil fuel companies have begun detailing the extent of their substantially enlarged profits as coal, oil and gas producers cash in on a global energy “crisis” that has sent consumer prices surging. The revelations show that the sky high prices at the petrol pump and in the home are not just the result of higher production costs. Some fossil fuel companies are doubling or trebling their margins as they seize on the opportunity to boost their coffers.
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NSW sets date for first gigawatt-scale tender of wind, solar and storage

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
Under the proposed contracts, successful generators will be offered 20-year contract terms under the LTESAs, allowing the projects to lock-in their future revenues for the bulk of their expected operational life. The contracts will also include ‘zero price floors’, protecting projects from negative prices in the wholesale electricity market. Battery projects will also be offered 14-year contractual terms, while pumped hydro energy storage projects could secure 40-year term contracts.
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Hydro Tasmania locks in new CEO to lead battery of the nation project

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
Hydro Tasmania has appointed Ian Brooksbank has its permanent chief executive officer, after having acted in the position over the last nine months. Brooksbank has served as the acting CEO of Hydro Tas since September last year, following Evangelista Albertini’s decision to step down from the position. Brooksbank previously served as Hydro Tas’ chief financial officer, as well las senior positions with Country Energy, Blue NRG and AGL Energy.
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Could Australia have a 'teal independent' as PM? Climate 200 thinks so

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
Could Australia elect a ‘teal’ independent as a future prime minister? It’s all down to community support, according to the head of the Climate 200 movement that delivered a major shake-up to Australia’s political status-quo at the federal election.
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US energy secretary says switch to wind and solar "could be greatest peace plan of all"

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
A global transition to cleaner energy sources could be the world’s best opportunity to minimise the chance of global conflicts, the US energy secretary has told a major energy forum in Sydney. In an address to the Sydney Energy Forum on Tuesday, US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm said the switch to cleaner energy sources meant no country could be “held hostage” over its access to solar and wind resources. “No country has ever been held hostage to access to the sun.
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Queensland coal mine allowed to more than double emissions without penalty

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
A Queensland coal mine will be able to more than double its greenhouse gas emissions without the prospect of penalties, thanks to a decision made by the former Coalition government just months before the federal election. Earlier this year, multinational mining giant Anglo American successfully applied to have a Safeguard Mechanism ‘baseline’ – which operates as a theoretical emissions ‘cap’ – imposed on the Grosvenor coal mine to be lifted by almost 135 per cent.
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Hosting UN climate talks could help mend Australia's Pacific relationships, Albanese says

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has had early success rehabilitating Australia’s reputation on climate action with European and North American peers – but he faces a tougher test in restoring faith amongst Pacific neighbours.
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EVs have enough range for remote and regional communities, they just need chargers

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By Michael Mazengarb
| TheDriven
New research shows that many electric vehicles are already well equipped for use in Australia’s remote and regional communities, providing sufficient range to access major service hubs. The research has been published in the journal Australian Geographer, led by researchers from the Australian National University, and has prompted calls for a ramp-up of investment in remote and regional EV infrastructure to support uptake.
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Social licence and emissions cuts to be embedded in Victoria's new grid plans

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
The Victorian government wants to embed social and environmental factors into a proposed investment framework for new transmission infrastructure, as it prepares for an overhaul of the state’s electricity grid.
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Works start at big NSW solar project that will help power NBN

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
Construction works have commenced at a south-central New South Wales solar farm, and will mark the first step towards the National Broadband Network sourcing all of its power needs from renewable energy sources. The 75MW Wyalong solar farm is being developed by Greek-based Mytilineos, and will sell around half of its output to NBN Co under a 10-year power purchase agreement, the first of several NBN expects to sign to meet its 100 per cent renewable energy target.
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Construction starts at Andrew Forrest-backed $3 billion renewable energy precinct

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
Construction has commenced at what could become Australia’s largest renewable energy project, with works starting on the first stage of the $3 billion, Andrew Forrest-backed, Clarke Creek renewable energy precinct. On Wednesday, a ground-breaking ceremony formally launched construction for the 450MW first stage, which will involve the construction of 100 wind turbines, and is on track to become Queensland’s second largest wind farm.
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Clean energy investors say grid congestion issues pushing developers offshore

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By Michael Mazengarb
| RenewEconomy Verified
Australian clean energy investors say reforms to the National Electricity Market need to be accelerated to help restore confidence amongst the developers of new wind and solar projects battling network congestion and curtailment.
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