The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission granted development consent to BayWa r.e. The approval covers the Bullawah Wind Farm in the South West Renewable Energy Zone. The project includes 804 MW of wind and a 718 MWh battery. The hybrid facility near Hay will feature up to 120 turbines and provide firming capacity to the regional grid. AEMO issued a direction to AGL SA Generation for the Barker Inlet power station in the South Australian region on October 2. AEMO also issued a market notice to lift transfer constraints on the Heywood Interconnector for flows from South Australia into Victoria.
CS Energy agreed to sell an 80 per cent stake in the proposed Brigalow Peaking Power Plant to APA Group. APA Group will lead the delivery of the project. Rio Tinto reached an agreement with the Tasmanian and federal governments to secure the ongoing operation of the Bell Bay Aluminium smelter in northern Tasmania through to 2031. WattClarity analysis of NEM supply side trajectories projects coal fired generation exiting the market earlier than scheduled. The WattClarity Accelerated Transition scenario projects a total coal retirement by July 2033.
Western Power launched a dynamic line rating system to control transmission line power flows using real weather data and solar irradiance. Wärtsilä announced it will supply 13 gas engines for an undisclosed 300 MW Australian reciprocating engine power plant. The Mutitjulu community inside the borders of the Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park in the Northern Territory will receive a 1 MW solar array and 3 MW battery energy storage system. This installation forms part of a $122 million remote community utilities upgrade.
Volt initiated a crowd sourced equity raising round targeted at retail investors to fund a new business division. The division will develop, own and manage renewable energy assets. ATMOCE and AC Solar Warehouse expanded their installer support, training and technical enablement programs. The Energy Efficiency Council released a national scorecard detailing state based disparities in household support for energy reduction and bill management. The report details a lack of uniform policy leaving residents in certain postcodes with fewer resources to improve thermal comfort.
The NEM average spot price settled at $68.60/MWh. Queensland recorded 17 hours of negative prices and averaged $52.20/MWh. The highest price reached $124/MWh in Victoria at 19:35. New South Wales recorded the demand peak of 8,906 MW at 17:40. Renewables supplied 48.8 per cent of energy across the trading day.
Natural gas prices increased 2.6 per cent to US$3.04/mmbtu. TTF gas prices increased 3.5 per cent to EUR76.50/MWh.
The AER approved the Jemena Electricity Networks 2026 to 2031 Electricity Pricing and Services Plan. The AER opened the Powerlink Transmission Determination 2027 to 2032. AEMO is seeking submissions on the East Coast gas technical protocol documents consultation by 16 October. AEMO will close submissions for the AEPC 2026 17 discussion paper on 28 October. Submissions for the Maintaining Reliability of Supply at Atherton Tablelands and Cairns Areas draft report close on 11 November. Submissions for the Thomastown Terminal Capacity Constraint consultation report close on 22 December.