Energy

Oil prices fell on Thursday after US President Donald Trump sent a tweet demanding that OPEC reduce prices for crude.

Pacific Energy says it will meet its underlying earnings guidance for the 2018 financial year, but has flagged impairments totalling $14.8 million.

Carnegie Clean Energy has agreed to sell its battery storage and microgrid business to ASX-listed Tag Pacific as part of an all-scrip merger deal.

Perth-based blockchain business Power Ledger has signed a deal to work on an electric vehicle charging project in California’s Silicon Valley.

Monadelphous' joint venture business, Zenviron, is part of a consortium that has been contracted to deliver a wind farm in regional Victoria, with Zenviron expected to perform $70 million of work on the project.

SPECIAL REPORT: The rollout of next generation energy infrastructure such as batteries and microgrids is kicking off in WA, adding to the opportunities available for contractors in this space.

Rooftop solar capacity across Perth and surrounds will nearly triple in the next decade, to be about 2.3 gigawatts, as the Australian Energy Market Operator confirmed current capacity and demand side management was sufficient to meet forecast demand on the South West Interconnected System power network.

Iron ore miner Roy Hill has connected its Port Hedland operations to Horizon Power’s North West Interconnected System following the installation of extensive underground facilities, which began in 2016.

Frank Tudor has resigned as managing director of Horizon Power to take the reins of eastern states energy player Jemena.

The ownership of two major gas pipelines in Western Australia could change hands after a Chinese consortium proposed a $13 billion takeover of energy infrastructure giant APA Group, one year after the same consortium bought DUET Group, which owns the Dampier to Bunbury gas pipeline.

Horizon Power has awarded contracts to CPS National and Contract Power Group for the construction of a solar farm and battery storage in Onslow.

The state government has signed off on a $16.8 million Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility loan for the stage two expansion of Onslow Marine Support Base, located at Beadon Creek and operated by Kuwait-based Agility Logistics.

Sydney-based utility APA Group will expand its 130-megawatt wind farm project at Badgingarra to include a 17.5 megawatt solar farm, after extending a power purchasing agreement with Alinta Energy.

Moves to encourage downstream lithium processing in Western Australia continued today, with the state government announcing a taskforce to develop a strategy for the sector.

Interest is growing in Kwinana as a possible battery manufacturing hub, with Wesfarmers mooted to be considering a move into the sector and representatives from US electric car manufacturer Tesla in Perth to meet with Premier Mark McGowan today.

Global company Schneider Electric anticipates continued strong trading in Western Australia, helped by work on established resources projects, new lithium developments and its Clipsal business.

Recent comments by Tesla’s Elon Musk, and his company’s price dive immediately after, will be of interest to the state’s lithium miners.

AGL has knocked back Alinta Energy's $250 million offer to buy Liddell Power Station and reaffirmed its decision to close the plant in 2022.

Two groups aspiring to build gas processing projects on the Burrup Peninsula are aiming to fare better than many others have in the environmentally sensitive area.

A former Horizon Power IT manager and his business partner are being investigated by the Corruption and Crime Commission over allegations the pair billed the state-owned company more than $1 million for services provided by a firm they jointly owned.

Former Rising Stars award winner Harrier Human Capital has continued its rapid national expansion, winning a $15 million recruitment contract with AGL Energy.

State-owned Western Power will need to trim operating costs by about $100 million more than planned over the next five years under the Economic Regulation Authority’s latest draft access arrangements released last night.

Two shopping centres in Perth’s north have been included in a $28 million solar power project being undertaken by ASX-listed Vicinity Centres, which is forecasting the creation of about 40 local jobs.

Few projects are more meaningful for WA’s economic direction than the Greenbushes lithium mine expansion and the new lithium refinery in Kwinana.

Two giant waste-to-energy projects planned for Kwinana and Rockingham could gain extra financial backing after the federal government unveiled a raft of policy initiatives to address problems flowing from China’s new restrictions on accepting foreign waste.

Long-running plans by Vikas Rambal’s Perdaman Industries to build a multi-billion dollar urea manufacturing plant in Western Australia have received a fillip, with his group signing a gas supply agreement with Woodside Petroleum.

The state government has appointed Stephen Edwell chair of Horizon Power, and added Kylie Chamberlain to the utility’s board.

Perth-based Pacific Energy, through its newly acquired Contract Power Group, has secured a contract with Mineral Resources to build a 52-megawatt power station at the Wodgina lithium project.

Collie could soon be home to a 20 megawatt solar farm and cryptocurrency 'mining' operation, after the Southern Development Assessment Panel recommended approval for a project led by energy entrepreneur Ben Tan.

A solar power company founded by former Western Power manager Neil Danby and olympic basketballer Andrew Vlahov has picked up its first contract, winning $7 million of work for Image Resources’ Boonanarring mineral sands project.

State governments have approved more detailed design work on the National Energy Guarantee to proceed at a Council of Australian Governments energy ministers meeting today, although Labor state leaders still have objections.

Woodside Petroleum chairman Michael Chaney has said there’s a risk that major energy players may be dissuaded from investing into Western Australia if company tax reform is stalled, as the business closes in on a tolling deal for gas from the Browse field.