University of Queensland - UQ student wins national competition with geothermal power essay

A UQ PhD student exploring the possibilities of geothermal power has won a national award for his sustainable energy outlook for Australia. Aleks Atrens, a PhD student with UQ's School of Engineering, was awarded the under 22 age group prize in a new national essay competition aimed at encouraging young Australians to consider our energy future.

The inaugural National Energy Essay Competition (NEEC) saw more than 200 entrants submit a 10, 000 word essay addressing the energy challenges facing Australia in the next 40 years and beyond. In his winning essay, Mr Atrens suggests that a range of power generation systems will need to be constructed to meet growing energy demands and limit severe environmental harm.

Business Spectator - AGL moves into position

Trading halts for three companies this morning is a strong signal that the latest bout of consolidation of the coal seam gas sector is about to get underway. Unlike the flurry of large-scale activity throughout this year, however, this time the action is moving into NSW.

The securities of AGL, Sydney Gas and AJ Lucas Group were all placed in trading halts this morning: AGL’s and AJ Lucas’s because they are both involved in discussions concerning a "material transaction". Sydney Gas is in a trading halt "in relation to a takeover bid." AJ Lucas became Sydney Gas’s major shareholder, with about 20 per cent of its capital, this year.

As the joint venture partner of Sydney Gas in its Hunter Valley and Camden and Sydney projects, AGL already has its foot on the group’s key resources. Sydney Gas is potentially of real strategic consequence for AGL, the largest supplier of gas into Sydney and Newcastle.

There is an expectation of an increasing shortfall of gas for the Sydney market over the next decade that coal seam gas is expected to meet. With the more deeply explored and developed Queensland coal seam gas fields earmarked for the plethora of export LNG plants on the drawing boards, NSW gas will come into increasing focus.

Sydney Gas’s reserves and prospects are located close to the NSW electricity grid and the main gas transmission pipelines into Newcastle and Sydney. It already has long-term contracts to supply AGL. The joint venture partners have talked about an ambition of supplying up to 20 per cent of the existing NSW gas market by 2015 from its resources at Camden and the Hunter Valley and up to 50 per cent beyond 2015.

The Australian - AGL makes a $171 million bid for Sydney Gas

AGL Energy has continued to shore up its NSW coal seam gas (CSG) reserves during the current economic downturn. ... AGL last week agreed to pay $370 million for AJ Lucas and Molopo Gas's CSG acreage in the Gloucester Basin, north of Newcastle. AGL says the Hunter exploration project, which it already holds half of, is the main prize and Sydney Gas's 50 per cent stake was worth $115 million, or two-thirds of the purchase price. By taking Camden and the Hunter project, AGL substantially boosts its ability to supply Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong with gas.

The Age - Arrow to buy Pure for $673m

Arrow Energy, Royal Dutch Shell's partner in coal-seam gas in northeast Australia, agreed to buy Pure Energy Resources for $673 million in cash and stock. ... "A combination of Arrow and Pure will drive further upside from Pure's acreage, and provide a commercialization path for Pure's reserves as a result of Arrow's downstream exposure through both Arrow's existing domestic power generation projects and proposed LNG export projects," Arrow Managing Director Nick Davies said in the statement.

Darling Downs Chronicle - Downs to ride out slump

THERE'S no gloom and doom on the western horizons with Toowoomba set to be insulated from the slump, courtesy of the mining activity, particularly in the Surat Basin. Bust is the last thing on Easternwell Group commercial general manager Marco Waanders' agenda. He said yesterday the major resource industry player was on track to double its workforce. He joined the chorus of Surat Basin insiders declaring the global economic downturn would not substantially hurt their projects.

This is despite mining giants Xstrata, Oz Minerals and Macarthur Coal announcing 500 job cuts on Tuesday and an expected downturn in Central Queensland coking coal projects. Mr Waanders was confident the family-owned company would create up to 600 new Toowoomba jobs within 18 months. “Everyone still needs gas to fire power stations,” Mr Waanders said from one of the company's five Garden City sites.

Bloomberg - Blue Energy, Eastern Lead Australia Coal-Seam Gas Stocks Higher

Blue Energy Ltd. and Eastern Star Gas Ltd. led Australian coal-seam gas stocks higher in Sydney trading, boosted by two takeover bids in the industry last week that offered more than a 50 percent premium to the share prices. Perth-based Blue Energy jumped as much as 31 percent to 19 cents on the Australian Stock Exchange at 2:02 p.m. local time, while Sydney-based Eastern Star Gas gained as much as 22 percent. Rival coal-seam gas explorers Metgasco Ltd., Arrow Energy Ltd. and Bow Energy Ltd. also advanced.

SMH - Cash-strapped Eden Energy finds a lifeline

EDEN ENERGY, an ASX-listed minnow that suspended itself from trading because of a cash shortage, may have found a lifeline by selling most of its overseas coal-seam gas business. In a sign of the capital shortage facing small explorers, the energy company said it had entered into a conditional contract to sell 90 per cent of its share in licences to explore coal fields in Wales to lower its cashflow needs.

Adelaide Advertiser - Investors swimming with the fishes

Grand Private Equities stockbroker Wesley Legrand said the ASX had been "ravaged and decimated" this year. He said mum and dad investors had been "taken to the cleaners by immoral, unethical and unregulated hedge fund short selling in combination with the greatest global margin call in history".

Of the few companies to gain ground in the past year, four of the top 10 are in the energy sector which has been propelled by takeover speculation and the blossoming coal seam gas sector. "In the short term, LNG and coal seam gas are hot property," Mr Legrand said. Linc Energy is number one, up 120 per cent, while Origin Energy has climbed 93.5 per cent.

Clean Energy Council - Renewable Energy Target next step to White Paper (pdf)

The industry is encouraged by the government’s move to maintain momentum by starting the scheme in 2010 and highlighting the importance of stabilising greenhouse gas concentrations at around 450ppm CO2-e.

However, the shallow initial targets and the anticipated low carbon prices will not drive the significant transformations needed in the Australian energy sector. This approach can only be justified if the government moves immediately to deploy a suite of complementary measures to drive multi-billion dollar investment in clean energy technologies and drive energy efficiency in homes and businesses.

SMH - Virgin Blue removes and reduces fuel surcharges

Budget airline Virgin Blue will eliminate the fuel surcharge on domestic flight airfares and reduce the surcharges for Pacific Blue trans-Tasman and Pacific Island flights following a dramatic fall in the price of jet fuel.

Cleantech.com - Australia taking bids for $182M in early cleantech projects

Victorian government plans majority of grants for carbon capture and storage, with money set aside for energy projects in solar, geothermal, biomass, wave and storage. The Australian state of Victoria has issued a request for proposals for AUD$182 million (USD$119 million) in pre-commercial cleantech projects to be implemented through 2015. The government has said it wants to help foster technologies with some technical risks that could eventually help the state reach its goal of a 60 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions between 2000 and 2050.

SMH - Rudd steps up renewable energy revolution

A $500 million renewable energy fund to kick-start clean power plants across Australia will be brought forward, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says. The fund, originally to be spent over six years starting next year, will instead be invested over 18 months from next year.

ABC - Indigenous communities warned over 'carbon-baggers'

There are claims that unscrupulous carbon brokers have been approaching Indigenous communities and trying to sign them up to questionable carbon trading deals. The newly created Australian Indigenous Chamber of Commerce has urged Indigenous communities to be wary of entering any agreements.

ABC - Kimberley tidal power plant still on the agenda

The proponents of a failed tidal power station in the Kimberley town of Derby, say their recent plan to build a similar project near Wyndham is still moving ahead. ... The proposed site of the power plant is 25 kilometres north of Wyndham. If built, it will be the third largest tidal power plant in the world.

ABC - Site named for WA gas precinct

The Western Australian Government has named James Price Point, 60 kilometres north of Broome, as the site for its proposed liquefied natural gas precinct. The gas hub would offer offshore LNG processors working the rich Browse Basin the opportunity to use port facilities only 300 to 400 kilometres away.

ABC - Solar panel rules change in SA

A change of rules in South Australia will make installation of solar panels exempt from needing planning approval.

TVNZ - NZ energy records posted

Record crude oil prices, petrol prices and geothermal electricity generation marked New Zealand's energy trends in the September quarter this year.

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