Haven't been active on here for a while so here is my obligatory 'I chaired a conference' post! I was very lucky to be invited to Australian Energy Week, where I interviewed some very smart folks about what Australia needs to do to reach its clean energy targets ♻️

Aus’ gas (LNG) export earnings for FY 2026-27 are set to hit A$65b, up more than 40% from an outlook made pre- Strait of Hormuz closure. They're also arguably not receiving much regulatory pushback. Woodside's North West Shelf project extended till 2070, approval of new exploration permits etc....

Big emitters are getting out of Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism unscathed, according to new analysis from BNEF. Emissions fell 2.1% in 2025, and 6.7m credits (SMCs) were issued. That added to an already large pool, and effectively kept prices muted.

5/ Queensland is one of Australia’s most coal-dependent states — generating 65% of its electricity needs in 2024 from the fuel, according to BloombergNEF. The state made A$45.8B in coal exports in the year through May & A$5.5 billion of royalties in the financial year through June.

3/ Analysts and climate groups immediately criticized the move. It sends “uncertain signals for future investment in Queensland’s clean energy supply” and imperils Australia’s goal to reduce emissions between 62% and 70% on 2005 levels by 2035, BloombergNEF analyst Sahaj Sood told me.

2/ A quick recap: QLD will keep its state-owned coal generators operating for "as long as they are needed in the system and supported by the market," said Treasurer David Janetzki last week.

Australia’s battery boom is getting even bigger. ⚡ Latest tender under Capacity Investment Scheme awarded contracts for 4.1GW / 15.4GWh of storage. ⚡ CIS to back 14GW of new clean capacity by 2030. BNEF sees utility-scale batteries in Australia hitting 20GW by 2035, up from just 3.3GW in July.

♻️Funding in circular economy & bioplastics dropped in the first half of the year totaling $1.8B USD, according to BNEF. 📉That's just 21% of the total investment in 2024. I'm curious to hear whether folks this is due to a broad ESG investment pullback or something else? #Greensky #CircularEconomy

This was an interesting one to cover. The cable will allow coal-reliant areas to tap Tasmania's vast hydro resources, especially at night when rooftop solar generation winds down in the evenings. Stay tuned for more updates!

Last week my colleagues @akshatrathi.bsky.social and @lauramillan.bsky.social published this deep dive into why countries aren't investing more into the tech needed to limit the risk of blackouts. Some really great visuals in this one (like this fantastic chart) www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

The amount of cash pouring into renewable energy products has reached a new record high. $386 billion USD was invested during the first half of 2025 alone, a 10% jump from the same time last year, according to new data from BNEF. The boom is mainly being driven by fast, small-scale solar.

☀️ Australia's utility scale solar market may have already reached its peak, despite all-time high policy support for renewables. New analysis by BNEF's Tushna Mehta shows the market is already showing signs of slowing -- commissioned capacity in 2025 is expected to be 41% lower than 2023.

🧵 3) Coal is still king, but wind and solar are rapidly picking up pace. Credit to my editor @robverdonck.bsky.social who pulled this one together earlier today. It will be interesting to keep an eye on how it changes with so many new projects in the pipeline. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

🧵 2) One of the key drivers of Australia's battery boom is our world-leading power market volatility. The cost of energy tends to swing wildly from the middle of the day when rooftop solar floods the grid, (sometimes pushing prices BELOW zero) to the evening when prices soar.

🧵 1) Australia's energy transformation is an interesting case study as the world tries to rush to net zero. These are some of my favourite charts showing how our energy sector is changing.... First up, we have our huge battery boom. You can read about that here: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

🧵10) Despite these issues, and as investors continue to back out of projects, more than 60 countries have now published hydrogen roadmaps, and governments had earmarked at least $275 billion for clean hydrogen by March 2025, according to BloombergNEF.

🧵9) There are way too many other issues involved in moving hydrogen around to list here. But they mostly can be summarized like this: regardless of whether it's transported by ship or pipeline, it's too expensive and environmentally risky (and we don't even have the needed pipes anyway).

🧵8) Storage & transportation also remain major hurdles. At its normal temperature hydrogen takes up a lot of space, making it impractical for long-distance transport. It makes most sense to compress it into a gas or turn it into a liquid, but this is costly, energy-intensive & inefficient.

🧵6) The main obstacle limiting green hydrogen's uptake is cost. BloombergNEF expects that green hydrogen is unlikely to become price-competitive with fossil-based alternatives like gray hydrogen before 2030, and even then only in select markets.

🧵5) If the electrolyzer is being powered by a renewable energy source, you end up with green hydrogen. Theoretically, it's a zero carbon wonder fuel. But in practice, hardly anyone seems to be using it despite years of investment and hype.

🧵4) So how is it made? To be used as a fuel, hydrogen must be extracted from the compounds its typically bound up in, like water or methane. This can be done by reacting very hot steam with gas (not green) or using a machine called an electrolyzer to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

🧵2) We can electrify most things — but not everything. Think steel mills, cement plants and long-distance planes. They need a clean fuel that can be stored and burned, sometimes at high temperatures. This is where green hydrogen comes in.

7/ Australia’s hydrogen cost curve is expected to fall 55% by 2050 — but that’s too slow for most developers. China and India are moving quicker thanks to cheaper electrolyzers.

4/ Only 3 small green hydrogen projects are operational across Australia. Most of the $147b pipeline remains stuck in planning. Financing and buyers are scarce.

3/ Here’s where BP’s now-abandoned Australian Renewable Energy Hub was supposed to go — the Pilbara region of WA. Remote, sunny, windy. Ideal on paper. But too expensive in reality.

The govt just announced an A$14m emergency package to clear dead wildlife and support regional industries. But scientists say that’s nowhere near enough, and there’s nothing that can be done to stop the bloom for now. Image source: Great Southern Reef

Fishing and tourism industries could take hits as a result of the disaster. South Australia’s seafood sector brought in nearly A$500m last year — including prized rock lobster exports, just reapproved for China. That’s now under threat. Image source: Mickey Mason / Great Southern Reef

The bloom is driven by Karenia mikimotoi, a toxic plankton that’s spread across thousands of square kilometers since March. Experts say it’s linked to a marine heatwave that started last spring — ocean temps were 2.5°C above normal. Image source: IMOS

Sheesh, didn't have that on my bingo card. To save anyone else the Google search, is appears as though MechaHitler is a robot with machine guns for arms and a floating Hitler head from an alternate history World War II video game...

Tried to explain Australia’s rooftop solar boom, wild power price swings, and why batteries suddenly matter — all in under 20 minutes 🎙️ Catch it on today’s episode of the Bloomberg Australia podcast 🎧 via @bloomberg.com open.spotify.com/episode/5mya... #energytransition #batteries #ausenergy