Tim Shanahan

our initial thoughts for "Team Australia" on the aftermath post COP29, we'll have a special edition of our international updates and a COP29 Symposium on 5 December “COP29 was imperfect but remarkably, given the global political context, managed achievements including to lay out goals for decarbonisation and resilience investments in developing nations. Notably, after almost 10 years of negotiations, parties delivered Article 6 resolution, agreeing mechanisms for international cooperation through country to country carbon credit trading, new UN backed international carbon market and non-market initiatives,“ https://lnkd.in/gHDDSb8Q

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Delighted to have the opportunity today to explore some of the tensions and opportunities emerging for land access brought about by the energy transition with this outstanding group of people (and a big shout out to Catherine Garlick who we missed!). We discussed; -tensions for exploration and new mines in an environment where land competition is increased - opportunities for re-purposing mining assets and land for renewable energy projects -how operating and new mines may consider working with renewable energy development projects - potential opportunity created through WA’s new diversification lease tenure - how benefit sharing arrangements with communities have evolved with relevance for mining and renewable energy projects - considering access to pre-competitive data for activating the mining estate for renewable energy projects - questions on who is responsible for planning and identifying potential sterilisation risks The energy transition is giving rise to a new conversation on how we use land with significant implications for mining. There are both opportunities and tensions created by renewable energy project development and as an industry we should be looking across our exploration, operating, closing and legacy mines estate.

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The Australia federal government’s recently published Future Gas Strategy neglects the urgency of kick-starting exploration. There’s nothing more future forward than exploration, to ensure you have a reserve to pull from, that you are discovering the resources that are here on your shores, off your shores naturally, to be able to produce and thrive. After all, #EnergyStartsHere. https://lnkd.in/gQ_dkyiz

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When will Round 26 of the Cooperative Research Centres program start? For Round 25, the official open period was only 57 days (8 January to 5 March). The program guidance for future rounds is "Future rounds of the CRC Grants Program are determined by the Minister. CRC Grant rounds have been held annually over recent years". In reality, bids for Round 26 are underway, or at least under discussion. It tends to be hard to get stuck in until the shortlist for Round 25 is known (soon, I expect), but delay is the enemy of a quality bid. Bids take time to develop. Participants in bids take a long time to decide to participate (not too many people are in a position to think and act on a 10-year horizon). Then they have to seek approvals. That may involve approvals from HQ out of the country and the inevitable response "What the duck is a CRC?" Starting early saves money. Those that start later often need to bring on more assistance and therefore cost in their bid. I argue that the application forms are not very difficult to complete. A minimal amount of external guidance is needed to address the issues the CRC Advisory Committee wants to know about. Building the trusted relationships that lead to participants deciding to join a CRC can't be outsourced. But rushed bids will resort to using consultants to source participants - a recipe for more cost now and member churn down the track. Start early and run your bid much like you intend to run your CRC. Your expertise, efficiency and networks are the best path to a high-impact CRC. Peacock Consulting doesn't write bids. We can help you decide whether to bid via a one-day structured workshop. We can coach you to develop your bid. We believe you are the best placed to write your bid. Get in touch if you'd like to discuss our approach.

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The causes and conditions for system security issues in the later half of this decade are beginning to emerge; a lack of markets and easy commercial models for the scale of the orchestrated DER required under the ISP, cost escalations in transmission and renewables construction projects beginning to hike, and global demand for transition shifting in multiple countries simultaneously. We do not have enough engineers organised into corporate vehicles aimed at this transition for any of us to have a degree of comfort, and too much cost pressure will mean that head contractors are forced to weight price far too heavily when projects are being scoped and term sheets agreed. Its time. EPC and asset management companies need scaling plans and suitable business and operating models to provide a robust and resilient pathway to delivering the transition quickly, and efficiently. In the power sector, we need to realise we are about to become a nation of builders, not coordinators. Simone Rennie Ian Rakich David Melis Damien Backholer Phillip Vrettakis Guy Ravindra Chris Wade Tim Brunner Elizabeth Renteria

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New risks will emerge this week for Australia's energy market outlook when the Dutton Coalition unveils costings for a new nuclear, gas and renewables energy mix that challenges the current orthodoxy of the energy transition. ➡️ The modelling, that will be strongly contested, will show a "more balanced mix" of energy sources will deliver better price outcomes that renewables. ➡️It would set up a market dominated by coal, gas and renewables for the next decade, while the Coalition figures out how to get nuclear into the market here. ➡️It also has the potential to set up a profound reshaping of the direction of Australia's energy transition, and poses risks particularly for renewable energy and transmission developers. The Coalition's policy is already facing new headwinds from a revised CSIRO GenCost report that doubles down on findings that nuclear would be too expensive, too slow. But what might surprise is that the Coalition wants the political fight to be NOT about nuclear but about energy prices, a key cost-of-living issue that's biting hard politically. The Coalition wants to avoid the Labor wedge of renewables vs nuclear, as wind and solar will win that popularity contest. 🥊Instead the fight will be about the risks to the future of the Australian economy from an all renewables transition and a war of attrition about alleged hidden costs for consumers. There will be a focus on a lack of transparency around the capacity capital costs needed to firm renewables and the undeclared costs of Consumer Energy Resources (CER) in the home. Gas will be the initial big winner through deregulation and the opening up of new acreage to vastly increase the supply and affordability of gas on the east coast. That’s good news for developers of the Beetaloo basin in the NT, Narrabri in NSW and possibly the resumption of onshore gas exploration in Victoria. The major reason why a sceptical business sector -- who mostly believe nuclear will never come -- needs to take notice, is that if they are wrong, they're facing major disruption. It’s too late to put the genie back in the bottle for renewables that are now around 40% of the Australian market, but the Coalition has flagged it will move to slow down that pace, particularly in the regions. The Coalition is also signalling a rehaul of AEMO’s Integrated System Plan (ISP) and the Federal Government's renewables financial support program, the Capacity investment Scheme. It will also gamble on coal-fired power staying on for a lot longer, with retirements pushed back to the mid-2030s, in the belief that a lot of the coal-fleet is modern enough to keep going way past scheduled retirement dates. 🩼The Achilles heel of all this is that a legislative ban on nuclear will need to be overturned – no easy feat with hostile Senates – as well as State bans across the Commonwealth, requiring likely double dissolution elections and High Court lawfare. #NuclearPower #EnergyTransitionRisk

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🚀 New ARC Research Funding: Over $1.9M in support for projects led by members of the Environment Institute 🌍 The Australian Research Council (ARC) has announced funding outcomes for new projects in their Discovery Scheme that aim to advance Australia's knowledge and contribute to a wide range of scientific, environmental, and social benefits. The Environment Institute congratulates all members who have secured funding. Among the exciting new projects are groundbreaking initiatives in climate science, environmental remediation, and desert ecosystems. Notable projects led by members of the Environment Institute include: 🔬 Climate, Fire, and Kangaroo Island: This research explores the interplay between climate, vegetation, and human impact on fire regimes, specifically on Kangaroo Island. By studying ancient DNA and organic biomarkers, the team seeks to develop sustainable fire management strategies. The team includes EI’s Assoc Prof Jonathan Tyler (lead); Dr Haidee Cadd; Dr Linda Armbrecht; Dr Alexander Francke; Prof Michelle Waycott; Assoc Prof Michela Mariani Funding: $751,276. 🌱 Advanced Catalytic Reduction to Break Down Fluorinated Pollutants: Focused on environmental remediation, this project aims to optimize catalytic particles to break down toxic fluorinated pollutants, with potential to transform pollution control and safeguard public health. The team includes EI’s Dr Cameron Shearer (lead); Assoc Prof Tak W. Kee; Prof Rebecca Robker; Prof Yoichi Kobayashi Funding: $693,889. 🏜 Tracking 600,000 Years of Flooding in Australia’s Deserts: By developing a record of rainfall and flooding over 600,000 years, this project provides critical insights into how Australia's deserts have responded to climate shifts, informing future strategies for agriculture and infrastructure. The team includes EI’s Dr Alexander Francke (lead); Assoc Prof Timothy Cohen; Assoc Prof Lee Arnold; Assoc Prof Kathryn Amos Funding: $545,825. This funding will empower researchers and teams to make transformative contributions across various fields, enhancing Australia's research capability. To read more about these innovative projects and others funded under the scheme, visit the ARC's official website. #Research #Innovation #ARC #ClimateScience #EnvironmentalImpact #ScientificResearch #Australia #Funding #Sustainability

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As the Energex and Ergon Energy Network Member of the Queensland Government State Disaster Cordinstion Committee it’s essential we are prepared for severe thunderstorms and bushfires to floods and tropical cyclones. Today the Committee received the seasonal outlook from the Bureau of Meteorology. Every year our team builds on the valuable lessons from the three big events last year (TC Jasper, SEQ Xmas Storms, and TC Kirrily), we have strengthened our processes, refined our messaging and coordinated closely with industry partners (particularly Powerlink Queensland, Telstra, Optus and nbn® Australia), emergency services, government agencies, and local communities in the ‘off-season’. This includes: - Proactive engagement with stakeholders before, during, and after severe weather events - Enhanced communication protocols for faster response and real-time updates - Dedicated channels to provide critical information to customers in affected areas - Safety campaigns to raise awareness about staying safe during outages and natural disasters Great crisis communications builds trust. Providing our customers accurate and timely impact information, safety messaging, expected restoration timeframes, and insights to our response activities ensures they have what they need to stay safe and informed. Coupled with our strong relationships with emergency services, response agencies, and local communities; effective stakeholder engagement is vital for collaboration and doing our part to get Queensland communities back on their feet as quickly as possible. We’re confident these preparations will ensure a reliable and resilient electricity network that can support our communities through the most challenging events - be it severe weather, energy system emergencies, cyber attacks. Anthony Hamill Deborah Devincenzo Tash McCarty

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If you come across anyone interested in learning about ASIC Miner Repair, please send them this video. At the end, we have a survey accessible with the QR code or the link in the comments section: https://rb.gy/zphzcl #education #highereducation #blockchain #bitcoin #bitcoinminer #repair #pcb https://lnkd.in/gBbY6Vws

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Another sign that 1. Equity Capital Markets are open, and 2. Companies are choosing emerging firms like Shaw and Partners to help them raise capital.

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This article was first written in March 2024. Following the original piece we provide a Nov 2024 update (separate article) that highlights the difficulty faced with fast transitions. A recent Newcastle Herald article highlighted the challenge that the major industrial consumer of NSW electricity faces as it transitions its uninterruptible 24/7 load of 700-1000 MW, from Bayswater coal to renewable energy. The article highlighted Tomago’s commitment to renewable energy by 2030, and states that “will be achieved by wind and solar”. Significantly mention is made of a 500 MW, 2000 MWhr battery to enable the transition to be made once Bayswater electricity ceases in 2028/29 time-frame. https://lnkd.in/eWpeFbaN This strategy seems bold and Tomago Aluminium would seem to be the ‘canary’ as to how large scale industry in Australia can move (or not) to a 100% renewable electricity base quickly.   It got me to thinking what a 2000 MWhr battery might look like. Today, Tesla market a 4-hour megapack (with 3.9 MWh capacity) @ ~ 2 Million USD installed in Texas (per Dwayne Stewart). Let’s call that 3MM AUD assembled in Australia. So we are looking at a battery cost of ~515 megapacks costing over 1.5 Billion AUD dollars to meet Tomago’s stated need. BTW – the largest battery in Australia today is the Victorian big battery (VBB at 450 MWh). The VBB is privately owned and makes cash-flow by mostly surfing the wholesale price arbitrage from day to night. The Tomago battery will not operate in that fashion, and instead attempt to smooth out the inherent capacity factor limitations of solar and wind. 4 hrs at 500MW may seem an underestimate on Tomago’s part for battery size – especially if Hunter deep-water offshore wind is not on-line by 2028. It is some 5 times bigger than the current VBB. So the takeaway from this note is that Tomago Aluminium are proceeding with a bold and ambitious plan that is also costly. This makes it an interesting project to keep watch on. One elephant in-the-room is why an extension of current Bayswater Coal generation contract ( which can deliver cheap electricity for some years if that is desired) is not on the table given that if the renewable plan fails then plant shutdown would seem to be the result. Chris Bright Doug Sheridan Dwayne Stewart, MBA, P.E.

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After almost a year out of #miningindustry it feels pretty good to join my colleague Angus Faulkner at the #miningsummit2024 by The Australian Financial Review today! Great line up of speakers reinforcing the importance of #criticalminerals for both Australia's and global #decarbonisation journey and highlighting the Australia's industry broader aspirations to move higher up in the #supplychain: from mining and shipping to processing and manufacturing onshore. The developments in this industry will definitely call for more expertise in #majorprojects development and delivery in the next decade.

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$NTU - Heavy rare earth developer, Northern Minerals is pleased to advise new assay results from the mineral resource definition drilling program at Wolverine deposit. The Browns Range Heavy Rare Earth (HRE) Project is located approximately 160km southeast of the town of Halls Creek, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The results relate to the mineral resource definition drilling program at the Wolverine deposit during FY Q2-Q3 2024, and one remaining drillhole from the previous ore characterization and geotechnical drilling program completed in FY Q3 2023. Executive Chairman Mr. Nick Curtis AM commented: “The new assay results are very encouraging and emphasise the unique nature of the Browns Range system. These results materially increase confidence in the development of the Wolverine deposit as the first mine within the larger Browns Range system. The exceptional results of the newest Wolverine resource definition drilling program and the increased geological understanding from the drill results and the structural association model supports our regional geological understanding and suggests high-grade opportunities beyond the Wolverine deposit out across the broader Browns Range system. This is encouraging for future exploration success. We are grateful that the Company was able to progress this Program as a result of the grant monies received from the Federal Government. We also are very appreciative of the support we have received from our Native Title Partners - The Jaru People who assisted in ensuring required heritage surveys were completed prior to the campaign commencing. The completion of this drilling program is anticipated in mid-May, and the consequential re-evaluation of our mine plan is due in the fourth quarter of this calendar year, the timing of which aligns well with the Company’s planned FID timing.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/g2HGvRXC $NTU Nick Curtis AM Shane Hartwig Adam Handley

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It appears the stars are aligning for companies such as Bass which are turning to gas developement and production to service the Australian east coast gas market. This is a significant growth opportunity. https://lnkd.in/gKXiuSy9

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Great roundtable this morning on the shifting energy media landscape. See below for key takeaways from Alice Humphreys

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Climate change adaptation is a key theme of the Water and Environment Research Program (WERP) of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. It was an honour to chair the governance panel and present the keynote at the 2024 WERP Science Symposium today, held in Albury on the banks of the beautiful Murray where La Trobe University is lucky to have a campus.   Like water (sometimes through water) climate change impacts seep and flow through our lives and systems. I presented insights from a few of our La Trobe Climate Change Adaptation Lab projects that illustrate the cascading and compounding effects of climate change. I also revisited the 'Critical Breaking Point?' research I led nearly 20 years ago with Birchip Cropping Group (BCG). Initially a short study into farm households' experiences of drought, it stretched into a longitudinal study as the drought went on year after year, before in 2011 it abruptly became also a flood study.   The importance of recognising that we, our research projects and all our partners are enmeshed in the increasingly complex world we are studying is something I am only more passionate about now. It is a perspective that requires a sophisticated social science and soft systems sensibility. As WERP concludes and a new iteration of research for MDBA is developed, it is exciting to not only reflect on its substantial achievements but to help it evolve to face these and other socio-environmental complexities. Thanks to Kevin MACK, Nick Bond, Simon Kerr, and others for organising the day.

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Worth sharing...This simple interactive document by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources and CSIRO is intended to help organisations in assessing the risks and opportunities of #AI across various contexts. Simple tools like this are great discussion starters especially where there's low awareness or underlying change resistance. Check out the AI Impact Navigator: https://lnkd.in/giVacter Direct PDF download: https://lnkd.in/gN3P8RBk Do you know of similar tools like this - by public entities - covering digital transformation in the construction industry? #AIImpact #DigitalTransformation #ResponsibleAI #ConstructionInnovation #ToolsYouCanUse #AsutralianGovernment #CSIRO

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Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise GHD is at the TSBE industry event in Dalby this week. Key highlights from the Renewables Panel discussion led by John Sheldon who opened with the topic of social licence and discussing renewables with the panel participents from OEM, Developer and DNSP perspective respectfully: Richard Petterson ( Tindo Solar ) a GW solar factory is a target and would provide 250 jobs for the region, risk for projects being backed is a concern, global competition for equipment is real, investing in Australia’s capability is a desire, $250-$300million a year, the region in general has been proactive in creating the capital for renewable energy to make it desirable for OEM’s to come here. David Smith (Cubico Sustainable Investments ) Wind, Solar and CSP developer globally. Supply chain for renewables is very important, Australia projects are competing against Europe and US markets. Solar economics in utilities in Queensland are not as lucrative as Wind right now. Focus on the 35 years that the project is running and the supply chain is a focus because there are few OEM’s in the wind turbine space and mostly manufacturered offshore, but there are other local investment through council, labour, land lease and sourcing local services or construction jobs. Primarily local jobs for BOP, roads (80km’s), gravel that needs to be sourced, earthworks. Investment in Western Downs. Tower manufacturing locally would’ve been ideal but there is risk involved. Many projects are under development in the region. A pipeline if 10-15 year of projects will need people and there are real opportunities. Lessons learnt from the coal/gas industry during social licence are taken into account, the renewables industry are focussed on the journey of making sure that social licence is done correctly and that there is a code of conduct for developers. There is a lot of innitiatives in progress. Glenn Springall (Energex) Globally Queensland is one of the leading rooftop solar capacity at 6GW and expect in the next years to come it will double to 12GW. Renewable Energy allows customers to take part in their own electrification of their home. This includes electrical vehicles. Small businesses are participating and taking advantage of the roof space. As we move to a greater penetration the centralised projects play a key role, but the decentralised projects all contribute to a greater and diverse electrification. #labour #construction #renewables #queensland #oem #solar #developers #energex #tindosolar #cubico #ghd #power #utilities #energy #community #TBSE ✨🌱 we would love to hear from you and how we can work with your organisation to reach your goals in the Renewable Energy & Power Generation Industry Daniel Todd Chetan Chauhan Steve Yeardley ————————————————————- GHD are providing clients with integrated solutions through engineering, environmental, design and construction expertise helping communities with resilience and sustainability.

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Jumped on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) this afternoon to discuss the LNP’s housing plan, released today. Also, considered points of convergence between the Labor and LNP plans, both in focus this state budget week. Check it out, hopefully it offers some interesting analysis. https://lnkd.in/gPiqp-RE #StateBudget #BudgetReply #Queensland #HomeMatters #BetterTogether

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