Transgrid to invest US$11b to ready Australian state for 100pc renewables

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Transgrid, privatised in 2015, will invest in batteries and other energy storage, as well as 2,500 kilometres (1,553.4 miles) of new transmission lines across an area larger than Texas for ‘secure operation’ of the grid at up to 100 per cent instantaneous renewables. — India approves wheat, broken rice exports requests from 4 countries SOURCE: REUTERS Repeats story no changes to text MUMBAI, June 20 (Reuters) — India has decided to approve wheat and broken rice exports to few selected countries following their requests to allow the shipments of the grains, the government said in two separate notifications issued late on Tuesday. The South Asian country banned exports of wheat and broken rice in 2022 to lower local prices. But following requests, India would allow broken rice exports to Indonesia, Senegal and Gambia in 2023/24 financial year started on April 1. New Delhi also approved request from Nepal and allowed wheat exports in the current financial year. Indian exporters, which were exporting grains to these countries, need to bid for the allocated quota of wheat and broken rice, the government said in notifications. Indonesia has signed an agreement with the Indian government to potentially import 1 million tonnes of rice if the El Nino weather pattern hits domestic supply, media quoted the trade minister as saying on Friday. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Aurora Ellis) Yuan falters, dollar firm ahead of Powell testimony SOURCE: REUTERS Dollar drifts higher Traders await UK CPI and Powell testimony By Tom Westbrook SINGAPORE, June 21 (Reuters) — The dollar was firmer on Wednesday leading in to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s appearance at Congress where he is expected to strike a hawkish tone, while sterling lingered below recent peaks ahead of key inflation data. British inflation data is due at 0600 GMT, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda is due to speak at 0630 GMT and Powell is due to begin his testimony before Congress at 1400 GMT. Sterling <GBP=D3> fell overnight but recovered about half its losses to trade steady at US$1.2763 through the Asia session, not far below last week’s 14-month high of US$1.2849. Economists expect inflation to show signs of easing and the data is likely to be decisive for the Bank of England. It meets on Thursday with markets currently pricing about a 75 per cent chance of a 25 basis point hike and a 25 per cent chance of a 50 basis point hike. <0#BOEWATCH> Sterling may halt the current reversal (if) expectations are reshaped, with the pair potentially jumping back above US$1.28 and re-testing last week’s resistance at US$1.2847, said Daniela Hathorn, analyst at Capital.com. The euro was held to US$1.0914 in Asia trade, while the yen slipped slightly to 141.80 per dollar as Bank of Japan minutes and officials stuck to a dovish stance and as traders turned their focus to the Fed. Despite having paused last week, the Fed officials ... still surprisingly aggressively forecasted another 50 basis points in hikes by end 2023, said currency analysts at Maybank. It is crucial to see whether (Powell) would more strongly drive home the point that the Fed is serious about another 50 bps of hikes or give the impression that they are ‘data dependent’, they said. The former may do more to give additional support to send the dollar index and yields higher. Elsewhere there was little appetite for a bounce from either the yuan or the Australian dollar, which have been battered by China’s stalled economic recovery and lack of major stimulus. China set its yuan midpoint weaker than expected on Wednesday and the currency <CNY=CFXS> slid to a new seven-month trough of 7.1987 in onshore trade, while the offshore yuan <CNH=D3> weakened past 7.2 to the dollar. The Aussie <AUD=D3> had taken a further beating thanks to Tuesday’s less-hawkish-than-expected central bank minutes following this month’s rate hike. It fell 0.9 per cent overnight and last bought US$0.6786. The path of least resistance is further declines, said Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist Joe Capurso. The Aussie could dip below 0.6700 this week, particularly if Powell is hawkish, he said. Powell is due to begin his testimony at 1400 GMT. The New Zealand dollar <NZD=D3> was dragged lower in sympathy, breaking below its 50-day moving average before steadying just above its 200-day moving average at US$0.6178. The US dollar index <=USD> was marginally firmer at 102.60. Bitcoin <BTC=BTSP> extended overnight gains to breachUS$29,000 for the first time since late May, helped by the launch of a new crypto exchange backed by Fidelity, Citadel Securities and Charles Schwab. — Reuters pic

Wednesday, 21 Jun 2023 3:02 PM MYT

SYDNEY, June 21 — Australia’s most populous state will be ready for 100 per cent renewable energy within a decade under a A$16.5 billion (RM51.9 billion) infrastructure investment plan announced by a major grid operator today.

The company owns and operates over 13,000 km of transmission lines across New South Wales (NSW) state and the Australian Capital Territory.

"There will be no transition without transmission,” Chief Executive Brett Redman said in a statement.

"With over 80 per cent of coal-fired capacity in NSW expected to retire and 28 gigawatt of new renewable and storage capacity coming online in the next 10 years, we must urgently accelerate the investment in all areas of the energy transition.”

Today’s plan highlights the scale of investment required to reach the Labour government’s pledge to cut carbon emissions by 43 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030 and how a sizable chunk of the spending falls outside building new wind, solar and hydro projects.

In a decade, 80 per cent of today’s coal-fired capacity, concentrated in a score of large plants, will close and billions will be needed to knit together a vast network of new energy to replace it. These will include hundreds of wind and solar projects and tens of millions of rooftop solar panels spread across the world’s sixth-largest country.

The bulk of the funds, A$14 billion, will be spent on transmission lines to connect new clean energy projects to customers. Roughly A$2.2 billion will be spent on energy storage to secure the grid as coal plants close, including 10GW of batteries.

A final A$300 million will be spent on new staff and technology to operate the upgraded grid.

The project will be funded by a combination of private investment, government support and user charges, a spokesperson for Transgrid said.

While work has started on EnergyConnect, a 900km transmission line to connect grids across three states, most of the announced plan has not started. — Reuters

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