Multiple states across the country are set to compete in the annual Water Industry Operators Association of Australia (WIOA) IXOM 2023 Best Tasting Tap Water in Australia competition, on 18 November, with the winner to represent the country in the International competition in early 2024. The state representatives competing for the 2023 Best Tasting Tap Water in Australia include the […]
Project developments, news, announcements and personnel movements from the Australian utility industry, updated daily.
The Alkimos Seawater Desalination Plant (ASDP) has received environmental approval from state and federal regulators, bringing delivery of Perth’s next major water source a step closer. The Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has approved the 100 billion-litre-a-year plant that is set to secure drinking water for millions of Western Australians. It follows assessment by the […]
The South Australia Premier’s Awards for Mining and Energy winners have been announced, with a major energy utility taking home two wins. SA Power Networks’ Flexible Exports option for solar – which allows customers to maximise the value of their investment in rooftop solar energy – won the Innovation and Collaboration Award for the energy sector. The utility also won […]
Powerlink Queensland has renewed its partnership with the Bureau of Meteorology, an industry-first collaboration designed to deliver better planning and decision-making on Queensland’s transmission network. The partnership has seen open sharing of collective specialised knowledge and data since its inception in 2020. It has also delivered targeted research and informed broader research for both organisations to help plan an electricity […]
SA Water crews have removed numerous car rims and concrete covers in the Edinburgh sewage chamber, which has the potential to cause sewage overflows if not removed. The haul of bizarre objects from Edinburgh’s sewers included five car rims, two rectangular concrete covers, a circular concrete cover, and smaller pieces of broken concrete. SA Water’s Senior Manager of Field Operations, […]
The Queensland Government has announced that the delivery of the Brigalow Peaking Power Plant – the state’s first renewable energy peaking plant – is officially underway, signalling a major step forward for Queensland’s renewable energy future CS Energy is leading the development of the project, which aims to help decrease Queensland’s reliance on fossil gas – the peaking plant will […]
Townsville is set to receive an $18.79 million development hub for clean powered trucking fleets and ADF heavy vehicles, boosting the area’s renewables supply chain. Supported by the Queensland Government, RGM Maintenance will build the Defence and Hydrogen Maintenance Hub in the Cleveland Bay Industrial Park. The hub is expected to sell, repair and maintain new-generation EV and hydrogen heavy […]
Delegates from Washington State have visited Transgrid in Sydney as part of their trade mission to Australia to learn more about how the nation is tackling the renewable energy transition. Washington State representatives from business, education, and government are staging a trade mission to Australia, focusing on government diplomacy and business partnerships to support clean energy development and the phaseout […]
The New South Wales Government has announced it will attempt to address the shortage of skilled water operators in New South Wales by rolling out up to 900 fee-free vocational training placements across the state. Over the next four years there is expected to be a deficit of 1,476 qualified water technicians, with the government saying that this program will […]
Genex Power has announced a major milestone has been reached in its Kidston Clean Energy Hub connection project, with the first of 348 transmission towers being constructed. The project will stretch 186km between Genex Power’s Kidston Clean Energy Hub and the Guybal Munjan Switching Station at Mount Fox, supporting 400 jobs during construction. Drones will be used to help string […]
The New South Wales Government has announced investments totaling $6.2 million to boost drought resilience and water security in the face of the drying conditions across the Central Tablelands. The investments include: $5.5 million to connect Cowra and the Central Tablelands Water systems, so the region can share water when supplies hit critically low levels $150,000 to help Central Tablelands […]
The Main Access Tunnel (MAT) – which allows access for underground works – has been completed at the Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project (K2-Hydro). Genex Power advised that its Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor has completed the excavation of MAT within high quality rock conditions. The MAT serves as the permanent access point to the power station cavern. The […]
A package of underground works as part of the Borumba Pumped Hydro Project in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, Queensland, is now open for Expressions of Interest (EOI). The project is set to be delivered by public energy company Queensland Hydro. The EOI for the underground works marks the first step in the most significant program to be delivered during the […]
Seqwater has opened expressions of interest (EOI) for a head contractor to deliver the $300 million Toowoomba to Warwick Pipeline project. Briefings were held on Wednesday 1 November in Highfields and Warwick, where Seqwater updated Toowoomba and Southern Downs businesses and industry representatives on the project, procurement process and opportunities ahead. A key feature within the construction contract will be […]
Western Power has appointed three new non-executive directors, along with one re-appointment, to its board, which are expected to guide the company through the state’s energy transition. Appointed by the Western Australian Government, the new directors are Wayne Manners, Andrea Hall, and Rob Grant as well as the re-appointment of Monish Paul. Western Power Board Chair, Denise Goldsworthy AO, said […]
The Queensland Government has announced that it will be supporting the Stage 1 development of a new water treatment plant in Ayr, by providing $46.88 million in funding to the Burdekin Shire Council. This funding package also provides support for costs associated with refurbishing South Ayr bores to supplement current drinking water supplies and is part of an ongoing management […]
The Water Industry Operators Association (WIOA) has held its annual IXOM Best Tasting Tap Water competitions for New South Wales and the ACT, and Western Australia, the winners of which will go head to head against each other and other states for the national title. Water Corporation’s Cue Water Treatment Plant won the Western Australian title and Rous County Council’s […]
AGL Energy has announced that it will sublease Bogong Village in Northeast Victoria to Grollo Group entity, Worker HQ. Under the sublease agreement, the Grollo Group will take over the ownership and operation of Bogong Village and redevelop it over the next three years. This will include investing in renovating village facilities including the 27 buildings and tavern, with a […]
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has awarded $11 million in funding to SunDrive Solar for the expansion of its novel solar cell metallisation technology from prototype scale to commercial capacity. SunDrive has developed a cell metallisation technology that uses copper, a metal that is approximately 100 times cheaper and 1000 times more abundant than commonly used silver. Currently, silver […]
Two changes have been made on the Tasmanian Water Miscellaneous Amendments (Delegation and Industrial Water Supply) Bill 2023, with the bill now allowing Irrigation to supply bulk raw Hydro water for hydrogen production, and secondly facilitating community management of irrigation schemes. Tasmanian Minister for Water and Primary Industries, Jo Palmer, said, “The Government’s priority is for local communities to have […]
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has approved a record $544.1 million in funding for projects to help accelerate the country’s transition to renewable energy. Established by the Australian Government on July 1st, 2012, ARENA has supported 663 projects with $2.25 billion in grant funding, unlocking a total investment of almost $9.75 billion in Australia’s renewable energy industry. In the […]
Barwon Water’s Biochar to Batteries project, which aims to achieve an innovative use for biochar, has received the Australian Water Association’s Victorian R&D Excellence Award. Biochar, created through a carbonisation process involving the high-temperature baking of organic waste, serves as a solid carbon sink, effectively sequestering carbon that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere during waste decomposition. The research […]
$1.3 billion in funding packages have been provided to the CopperString 2032 project by the Queensland Government, to help propel construction work on the country’s largest transmission endeavour. The funding will get the project ready for construction to commence mid-2024, and enable publicly-owned energy corporation Powerlink, alongside construction partners UGL and CPB, to undertake detailed design and engineering and environmental […]
The Western Plains Wind Farm has officially been removed from Ark Energy’s pipeline, with the company saying that its focus has shifted to bigger, more urgent projects. Progress in the renewable energy industry and the need for more renewable energy capacity to be delivered sooner has accelerated. The size, wind turbine capacity and total output capacity of projects has been […]
Stage two construction has commenced on the Haughton Pipeline Project, with pipes going into the ground. More than 28km of pipeline is being installed as part of the project – Townsville’s largest water infrastructure project – to help bolster Townsville’s water security. The pipeline project has been identified as one of Townsville’s most significant infrastructure projects in decades and a […]
Victoria’s Premier, Jacinta Allan, has launched the State Electricity Commission’s (SEC) Strategic Plan 2023-2035, marking the commission’s first step in leading the energy transition since being recreated. The plan sets out three clear priorities for the next ten years: Investing to accelerate the energy transition Supporting the switch to all-electric households Building a renewable energy workforce The SEC will invest […]
AGL has allegedly failed to provide 22 customers with a calculation of its ‘deemed best offer’ over a period between March and June 2022, and has had to pay a total of $799,656 in penalties. An energy retailer’s ‘deemed best offer’ is typically their cheapest generally available offer. It does not include one-off gifts or sign-up credits and is based […]
The Energy Efficiency Council and Clean Energy Council have partnered to deliver Careers for Net Zero, a campaign to train and upskill the energy workers necessary for Australia to reach its net zero targets. According to research by the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Sydney and Monash University, at least two million new jobs are required to meet net […]
The Federal Government is looking to set Australia up as a world leading supplier of critical minerals with an additional $2 billion of investment, a boost that will also support the economy with more jobs and benefit the nation’s energy transition. Critical minerals, including rare earths, are the building blocks for a clean energy future, and are essential to achieving […]
The Queensland Government has released the Queensland Energy Workforce Roadmap, which outlines how government, industry, workers and community can work together to create a workforce that can carry the state through the energy transition. The roadmap is supported by the Future Energy Jobs Guide, which outlines job opportunities and career pathways available to existing workers and school students. Developed in […]
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