Let's review some notable news headlines from the month of November.

For many mining companies, the rallying cry for investigating solar or wind energy options has been that the price of oil and other conventional fuels is too high — and will almost certainly rise over time. Now, though, with oil prices having taken a dramatic nosedive, this argument no longer packs quite the same punch that it once did.

Ormat is a successful developer of geothermal energy projects. Two former employees have brought a lawsuit alleging that Ormat made inaccurate 1603 Cash Grant submissions to obtain grants for projects that should not have qualified for such grants.

Next-generation hybrid cars combining electric and gas power in new ways are emerging as a low-cost alternative for consumers as batteries get cheaper and more efficient.

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Europe’s utilities are re-evaluating their business models due to the energy transition. Members of POWER-GEN Europe’s Advisory Board consider how a reliance on fossil fuels is no longer politically desirable, forcing utilities to transform their portfolios to adapt to radical change.

When I began my career 37 years ago, the main use of solar panels was on satellites — almost no one on Earth used solar energy. Oddly enough, the best place to be a solar engineer in the 1970s was at a large O&G company.

By Kelly Scanlon, director, environment, health and safety policy and research, IPC Over the past month, IPC has brought to your attention that the TSCA Fees Rule may apply to your company beginning in 2020 and that there could be several challenges for those who need to comply. Challenges include the requirement to self-identify as […]

By Kelly Scanlon, director, environment, health and safety policy and research, IPC The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released “scoping documents” for its upcoming reviews of certain high-priority chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6(b). Your review of these documents is important because scoping is the foundation of the risk evaluation […]

by Chris Mitchell, vice president, global government relations The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has prioritized the review of Section 301 exclusion requests related to the U.S. response to COVID-19. In March, USTR granted approximately 200 separate exclusions primarily covering personal protective equipment products and other medical-care related products. On March 20, USTR published in the […]

Austrade recently held a number of roundtables in Melbourne, Brisbane, Newcastle and Perth to update Australian SMEs and industry groups about the export opportunities in Poland’s defence and aviation sectors.

The second China International Import Expo (CIIE) attracted a record number of Australian companies and generated more than $350 million worth of trade deals for exporters.

An Australian water treatment company is winning business in China amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

An upcoming virtual conference to share Australian insights in engineering research and technology innovation, and avenue to exchange research ideas with Malaysian researchers.

Indonesian Business & Charter Aviation Summit (IBCAS) 2020 is an annual conference and exhibition for Business and Charter Aviation organised by Avcon Group.

Join Australian digital game companies for an exclusive games-focused market-ready bootcamp in Shanghai. Connect with global publishers and explore business opportunities in China.

Gain an overview of the landscape for Australian wine, particularly during COVID-19, in India and Sri Lanka.

What does 2020 and beyond hold for your company's global growth plans? How will COVID-19 disrupt and create new supply chains and R&D hubs in the APAC region?

The San Francisco-based utility is under investigation for any role its equipment might have played in the deadly wildfires of late 2018, only one year after getting blamed for an earlier, devastating rash of blazes.

The fallout from California power giant PG&E Corp.’s looming bankruptcy has been both sudden and widespread: Its electricity suppliers have seen their debt cut to junk. Banks are facing liabilities as buyers of last resort for more than $760 million of bonds the utility issued through California. And the rest of the state’s utilities have tumbled.

Utilities and renewable-energy advocates have long had a complicated relationship. Yet the prospect of PG&E Corp. tipping into bankruptcy by the end of January has sent shivers through the solar-and-wind sector.

PG&E Corp.’s woes are spreading to the East Coast.

On January 14, 2019, California’s largest utility, PG&E, filed a bankruptcy notice stating that it plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the month end on January 29th. Given its business situation, PG&E must proceed with the bankruptcy process unless lawmakers step in because PG&E’s current liabilities from California’s 2017 and 2018 fires are about 10 times PG&E’s current market cap of $3.5 billion, which is down 90% since last Fall. Obviously, this is a big issue for the cleantech industry since PG&E covers a territory that runs from Eureka to Bakersfield, including 106,000 miles of electric grid.

PG&E Corp. is seeking court protection to amend or cancel power purchase agreements with suppliers as part of its bankruptcy proceedings.

Australian hydrogen infrastructure developer H2U confirmed today that it will use Baker Hughes NovaLT gas turbine generators at its South Australian Renewable Hydrogen and Ammonia Supply Chain Demonstrator in Port Lincoln.

Sempra Renewables jointly owns all of part of seven wind farms and one battery installation in seven states. 

Plenty of people, it seems, have plans for PG&E Corp. Even before the California utility giant filed for bankruptcy facing $30 billion in potential liabilities from wildfires, state regulators began studying whether it needed to be reformed, restructured or even taken over by the government. They asked interested parties -- city officials, unions, consumer groups and trade associations -- to chime in.

The California-based utility requested that a federal bankruptcy court prevent FERC from enforcing the conditions of the more than 380 power purchase agreements (PPAs) that the utility may want to exit under its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

In late February, Hawaiian Electric Companies announced that they have achieved a consolidated 27 percent renewable portfolio standard in 2018, even with the loss of Hawaii Island’s geothermal resource for most of the year following the Kilauea volcanic eruption. Hawaii has a goal of reaching 100 percent renewable energy by 2045.

New Hampshire is preparing to follow the lead of other New England states and create a system for procuring renewable energy on behalf of residents.

The Trump administration is again seeking severe cuts to the U.S. Energy Department division charged with renewable energy and energy efficiency research, according to a department official familiar with the plan.

A trailblazing wind-solar hybrid project in western Minnesota could be a preview of what’s to come as renewable developers look for new ways to bolster projects.

What happens when a famously left-leaning city dives into the buttoned-down business of electric utilities? San Francisco may soon find out.

It was a milestone deal, not for its size but for the number of parties. In January, five big companies, each with differing energy requirements and renewable strategies, agreed to pool their investment and collectively purchase 42.5 megawatts from a North Carolina solar project.

As plans for wind farms across New England’s waters progress, fishermen continue to express concerns about the impact of the burgeoning offshore wind industry on their livelihoods.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed wants to use PG&E Corp.’s bankruptcy to take over some of the company’s assets for the city’s power needs, a move that would shake up California’s largest utility and remake the state’s energy landscape.

This week global engineering company Emerson announced that it had formed a 3-year alliance with Vayu to combine Emerson’s Ovation automation platform with Vayu’s cloud-computing wind energy optimization technology. The new technology will optimize wind farms in the Americas, Caribbean and Europe.

EIA data forecasts that U.S. wind capacity added this year should total 12.7 GW, by far the best since 2012’s record of 13.3 GW. That was the year the production tax credit (PTC) was originally supposed to phase out, although it was extended.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s surprise victory in Australia’s election was a win for the coal industry and ensures the debate about tackling climate change will continue to polarize the nation.

Oil companies, automakers and consumer products manufacturers will unleash a campaign for a U.S. tax on carbon dioxide emissions even though it may lead to higher prices for their products.

Yesterday, energy storage company Saft said it delivered and installed a turnkey Energy Storage System to Bermuda Electric Light Company (BELCO). The system provides up to 10 MW power for spinning reserves and frequency response to maintain grid stability and has a storage capacity of 5.5MWh, said the company. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on May 16.

As the sun sets on California’s solar farms, a backup energy source deep in the Sierra Nevada Mountains springs to life.

Eleven million people were employed in renewable energy worldwide in 2018 according to the latest analysis by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt has unveiled changes to the implementing regulations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that Interior says is “designed to increase transparency and effectiveness and bring the administration of the Act into the 21st century.”

The UK’s North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA) is calling for government investment in hydrogen projects to meet ambitious carbon reductions targets in Britain.

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Government support for Australia’s defence industries is on the increase, as two government agencies extend collaboration.

While the China market has been a miracle for Australian food exporters, the data belies many of the operating challenges individual Australian firms face.

Recent changes in the Indian Government’s approach to mining has opened up opportunities for private sector involvement in the sector, including international METS firms.