SMH - Get ready: high-rise suburbs coming

SYDNEY will be reinvented as a high-density metropolis serviced by mass-transit subways under a transport blueprint being developed by senior state and federal government bureaucrats. Powerful new legislation underpinning a proposed metro network costing $13 billion will enable transport and planning officials to reshape the inner suburbs of Sydney, paving the way for apartment towers as high as 15 storeys as well as large-scale retail and office blocks.

SMH - The promise of a new metro

The $8.1 billion West Metro, linked with the Rees Government's promised $4.8 billion CBD Metro, is Sydney's main pitch in a transport blueprint by state and federal bureaucrats aimed at attracting funds from the Building Australia Fund, the Rudd Government's new national approach to providing the nation's future infrastructure needs.

SMH - Arrow Energy says it is geared up for growth, not takeover

MUCH like its line of business, the coal seam gas producer Arrow Energy came from relative obscurity last year. In June the Queensland company signed a $776 million deal with the global giant Shell to supply gas to one of several projects looking to export the fuel to Asia. They plan to supply a plant operated by LNG Ltd, which will then export 1.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas a year by 2011-12. This amount is about half of Queensland's yearly gas consumption, and the companies plan to double output after the plant begins production.

To show it is serious, Arrow recently unveiled a $673 million takeover bid for the explorer Pure Energy Resources, in a move which should supply enough gas to meet the LNG target. The project is the smallest of four competing efforts to export coal seam gas from the region, which have attracted about $15 billion in commitments from global oil companies this year.

Considering this, and that Shell normally sets its sights on bigger deals, Arrow seems a possible target for a wave of consolidation in the industry as players look to cut costs. But the chief executive of Arrow's Australian operations, Shaun Scott, denies the company is preparing to put itself up for sale. Instead, he said the wave of deal-making in the sector was likely to dry up this year. "Fundamentally, the transactions that could have happened have now happened," he told the Herald.

After its bid for Pure Energy, Arrow is the only large coal seam gas specialist left in Queensland, and its NSW rivals are several years behind in proving their reserves. Other possible targets, such as Sunshine Gas and Roma Petroleum, were bought by Queensland Gas - which is owned by BG Group of Britain.

SMH - Focus turns to NSW coal seam gas

AFTER a flurry of investment propelled Queensland's coal seam gas industry onto the world stage last year, investors are waking up to the untapped potential in NSW.

Bloomberg - AGL Energy Gains Control of Sydney Gas in A$171 Million Bid

AGL Energy Ltd., Australia’s biggest electricity and gas retailer, raised its stake in Sydney Gas Ltd. past 50 percent as more shareholders accepted its A$171 million ($122 million) cash takeover offer.

The Age - Eastern Star Gas 'eyed for takeover'

Potential suitors have been running their eyes over Eastern Star Gas Ltd (ESG) but the coal seam gas explorer does not know if firm proposals will be made.

The Australian - Energy group seals $74m Italian gas deal

PO Valley Energy has inked a E38 million ($74 million) initial gas sales deal for its northern Italian fields, sending its share price to a four-month high. ... The Castello field, near Milan, is expected to come on stream mid-year, after slight delays in the approval process, and Sillaro, near Bologna is due for first gas in September or October.

Castello has proven and probable (2P) reserves of 6.3 billion cubic feet and is expected to produce at a rate of 2.7 million feet a day, while Sillaro has 14bcf of 2P reserves and is expected to produce at 3.8 million cubic feet a day.

SMH - If you think it's hot now, wait until next year

NSW was bracing for a heatwave today as the Australian Bureau of Meteorology published its annual report showing last year to be one of the hottest on record and predicting more scorching temperatures this summer.

Business Spectator - India's will to power

India may be one of the world's low per-capita emitters of CO2, but that does not mean it is off the hook in the global climate change debate (India feels the heat, January 2). Its need to contain emissions in future years, coupled with its need for energy security as its energy demand grows, means it must learn quickly how to tap energy from renewable sources like solar, geothermal, wind and biomass and to use it extensively to meet its growing needs. Though blessed with an abundance of non-depleting renewable energy resources, India’s record in tapping them has been dismal.

The Australian - Sydney waste site turns trash into power

A WASTE processing centre in Sydney's southwest is not only attracting worldwide attention by slashing greenhouse emissions and converting rubbish to electricity, it is also creating jobs. The Macarthur Resource Recovery Park rescues items tossed into household rubbish bins not considered to be recycling and which would otherwise go straight to landfill.

By the time the $50 million plant is fully operational in March, it will be carbon negative -- producing enough energy to meet its own needs and returning electricity to the grid to power 1700 homes a year. It will produce more water than it uses by extracting it from the waste and capturing stormwater onsite.

RealClimate - 2008 Year in review

Most consistently wrong media outlet:
The Australian (runner-up the UK Daily Telegraph). Both comfortably beating out the perennial favorite, the Wall Street Journal - maybe things have really changed there?

Peak Energy - Portugal's Largest Solar Farm Opens

Peak Energy - 2009: Year of the Electric Car ?

Peak Energy - Seagen Tidal Power Project Hits Full Speed

Peak Energy - China Plans World's Largest Solar Power Plant

Peak Energy - Troubled waters

Peak Energy - Another Misguided Approach to Road Pricing

Peak Energy - Dubai's Boom Turns To Bust

Peak Energy - Senator Conroy Expands Attack On Internet

Peak Energy - RIP Harold Pinter