Energy

A clean energy technology developed at the University of Western Australia with funding from Wesfarmers is the driving force behind Hazer Group, which is looking to secure up to $5 million as it prepares to list on the Australian Securities Exchange later this year.

Transferring control of large swathes of WA's electricity market to the east-coast based national regulator has been welcomed by dominant market player Synergy.

Perth Basin energy producer Empire Oil & Gas has announced its first profit, on the back of improved operating performance and a strong cost control strategy.

Energy producer and retailer Origin Energy has unveiled nearly $5 billion worth of plans to help bolster its balance sheet.

Local IT company Empired has won a $12 million contract to provide managed services to Western Power under an initial three-year term.

Transerv Energy shares were up 23.5 per cent this morning after promising results from its Warro-5ST well, which showed deeper gas than had previously been found in the Warro onshore tight gas field.

Management consultant Accenture has become the latest contractor to win technology related operations work in the resources industry, this time for the provision of data analytics at Woodside's Pluto LNG facility.

GE's oil and gas division has won a contract with Chevron for provision of subsea services at the energy giant's offshore assets in Western Australia.

Claims of excessive prices have uncovered a deeper frustration surrounding aspects of WA's electricity market rules.

Three waste-to-energy projects have received environmental approval, while the state government has increased landfill levies.

WA's natural wave resources have made it home to three energy companies that have taken a collegial approach to developing the new technology.

SPECIAL REPORT: Business News looks at what's holding up and what's contributing to electricity price reductions, reviews the players in WA's wave energy and waste-to-energy industries and reports on allegations of market manipulation by a Synergy-owned business.

Downer has terminated its contract with Spanish construction company Tecnicas Reunidas on the Burrup ammonium nitrate project, joining a string of contractors to be hit by contractual disputes on big projects over the past year.

An Aboriginal organisation has become the first business in the Pilbara to go completely off-grid, finalising a deal to be reliant on solar power and batteries announced mid last-year.

Vanadium and uranium explorer Yellow Rock Resources has formed a new subsidiary with an unnamed local solar system installer to sell vanadium-based batteries in Australia.

Energy giant Woodside Petroleum is considering growth opportunities in Papua New Guinea, announcing today it was evaluating a takeover offer for Oil Search through an all-scrip deal valued at more than $11 billion.

The proposed developer of a 10-megawatt solar power station in South Fremantle has withdrawn from the project, citing issues with the market and the development site, which previously housed landfill.

Two former BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto engineers from the Wheatbelt officially launched a wave energy prototype in the Swan River today as part of a long-term plan to produce electricity at costs so low it will rival wind energy.

Power generation company Pacific Energy has posted a 19 per cent fall in net profit for the 2015 financial year, but was upbeat on its outlook for the year ahead.

Marine services business MMA Offshore is predicting a tough year ahead after posting a net loss of $51.3 million for the 2015 financial year, on the back of a $125 million impairment flagged last month.

In some of the state's more remote towns, where electricity can be 700 per cent more expensive to deliver than in Perth, embracing cheaper new technology is only part of the solution to driving down costs.

Monadelphous Group and Tempo Australia have won more work on the Chevron-operated Gorgon gas project on Barrow Island.

Western Power has reported a substantial reduction in operating expenditure for the third year in succession, and says it is on target to deliver $1.4 billion in savings across its current five-year access arrangement.

A report by the auditor general has found the state government's Pilbara Underground Power Project will cost nearly double the original estimate and be completed six years behind schedule because of poor planning and management.

Big energy companies are fairly well prepared for the next wave of LNG projects coming into production, according to industry executive Keith Spence, but they need to stay focused on training to ensure a good supply of skilled workers is on tap.

WorleyParsons has sold subsidiary company Exmouth Power Station to Canadian asset management company Fengate Capital Management in a $19.6 million deal.

Carnegie Wave Energy's international growth has been boosted after the Scottish government awarded the Perth-based company a $4.3 million grant to develop a wave energy power conversion system.

Sirius Resources has announced that it has nominated Belmont-based Zenith Pacific as its preferred tenderer to build, own, operate and maintain a combined diesel-solar power station at Sirius' Nova nickel project in Fraser Range.

Buru Energy has announced the termination of its gas sales agreement with Alcoa of Australia.

Investment uncertainty in the renewable energy sector hasn't dampened demand, according to a local clean energy business, which is self-funding major growth plans it says are viable in the current market.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten believes his ambitious renewable energy target will give voters a "clear choice" at the next federal election.

The market appetite for backdoor listings of tech stocks continues unabated, with Magnolia Resources securing $7 million in funding commitments and Potash Minerals becoming the fifth exploration company from Western Australia to head down the tech path this month.