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LACK OF SUPPLY THREATENS POWER GRID Gas generators may be forced to burn diesel to keep the power grid running after authorities warned that states face a catastrophic supply shortfall from next year unless new sources of supply are developed. The Australian Energy Market Operator revealed that gas generators could have to run on diesel through to 2026 during periods of high demand, due to the lack of gas on the east coast. Gas generators were last forced to use diesel to prop up the electricity grid in 2022 when Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered a domestic crisis.

We could run out of gas on chilly days as early as next winter, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has warned again. The SMH reports ExxonMobil and Woodside Energy are preparing to shutter one of three key plants that process gas from the Bass Strait, the 50-year-old Gippsland Basin, which has provided two-thirds of the southern states’ gas appetite.

1 March 2024.

Last November in a speech to mining executives, Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, urged more miners to get into politics and remove environmental regulations. Rinehart has a long record of climate scepticism and opposition to renewable energy. Last December she made the extraordinary claim that a third of Australia's agricultural land could be taken over by wind and solar projects. (The Clean Energy Council notes that replacing all of Australia's coal-fired power stations with solar farms would take less than 0.016 per cent of the country's land.) Rinehart's source was the Institute for Public Affairs, an organisation to which she has reportedly contributed millions of dollars and which has a long record of propagandising against renewable energy.

Northback Holdings Corporation (Northback), a dedicated supporter of neighborhood initiatives, is pleased to announce its sponsorship of a school breakfast program with Livingstone Range School Division (LRSD) aimed at nourishing and empowering local students. The new program is called the Northback Breakfast Program. Reflecting its passion to foster healthier and more vibrant communities, Northback has committed to supporting the LRSD Nutrition Program by providing $75,000 per year to expand this important initiative.

Australia’s most powerful energy producers have lashed spurious legal claims and environmental hold-ups, warning contracts needed to dodge a gas shortfall on the east coast are under threat due to delays developing more than $10bn in new projects.Queensland’s Senex Energy, half-owned by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, said it may struggle to meet supply deals with ­EnergyAustralia, manufacturing giant BlueScope and building products maker CSR. Contracts with the big gas users from Senex’s Atlas expansion begin in 2026, but ongoing delays threaten the timetable. “It takes a very long time to get gas out of the ground from a standing start,” said Senex chief executive Ian Davies. The longer this drags on, the more those contracts are at risk.”

In a world that grows increasingly unstable and in which we, or more accurately our friends, are already fighting two wars, we will realise that we are indeed the lucky country, blessed with abundant resources which we must learn to mine and process ourselves. We will learn that the greatest threat to our future is not climate change but a climate of naivety.

WA’s domestic gas settings are a “live issue” for Premier Roger Cook, who wants to have a “conversation with industry” about changes to bring supply online quicker — including potentially lifting the onshore export ban. The Cook Government’s shift in approach on gas comes in the face of looming shortages that threaten to push up energy prices for families and businesses. While insisting there would be no change to the fundamental principle underpinning the State’s signature domestic reservation — that West Australians should benefit from WA gas — the Premier said it was “not a set and forget policy” and needed to evolve over time.

It’s a pre-Christmas surprise that will add even more stress to families struggling to balance the household budget The independent Australian Energy Market Operator says WA is likely to face a gas shortage next year, pushing prices higher amid an already crushing cost-of-living crisis . And the budget pain won’t only be felt through the household gas bill. The gas shortage will also affect manufacturers and businesses. That means it could cause the cost of just about everything to rise.

Australia will likely need gas for electricity, industry and exports for decades to come and politicians have been warned not to shut down technology options too early, new modelling reveals.“Preparing for only one pathway leaves Australia extremely vulnerable to developments that are outside Australia’s control,” the report says. “Should any energy pathway or technology face challenges in its deployment, it will be critical to have alternative energy sources in the mix to maintain energy security and affordability and to keep emissions reductions efforts on track.”