Brookfield buys Origin
Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to buy Origin Energy for $18.7 billion. The offer was fully endorsed by the board but will now be required to secure FIRB and regulatory approvals.
Brookfield has publicly committed to closing the Eraring Coal power station during 2025, as previously announced. They have also said it plans to invest a further AUD $20 billion of capital to fully replace Origin’s power generation with green energy over the next decade, setting a target of 14GW by 2030 in renewable energy infrastructure.
Labor wins the NSW state election
The 2023 NSW state election was won by the Labor party.
Penny Sharpe has been appointed the new NSW Energy Minister. Under the New Start plan, Labor has committed to a Renewable Energy target of 50% by 2030, and “as close as possible” to 100% by 2050.
They have also pledged to invest $1 billion in the NSW Energy Security Corporation, a new government body tasked with investing in dispatchable green capacity.
Federal Safeguard Mechanism
The Government passed reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism to reduce emissions limits on a trajectory consistent with achieving net zero by 2050.
It requires Australia’s largest greenhouse gas emitters to keep their net emissions below a limit, explicitly legislating for the country’s largest polluters (plus any new entrants) to reduce emissions by 28% by 2030.
Should polluters exceed their stated target, they will surrender prescribed carbon units to reduce the net-emissions of the facility.
Did you know?
The roots of modern solar power can be traced back to 1839.
