Market Update | 8 March

• Victorian Offshore Wind Industry begins to gain momentum
• February marks the Ninth consecutive month of record global temperatures
• EU nations commit to exiting fossil fuel generation

Victorian Offshore Wind Industry begins to gain momentum

Some of the world’s largest renewable energy players have been reported to have been selected for a preliminary licence to develop an offshore wind project in Victoria. The news comes as an exciting development for both Victoria and the group known as Star of the South. Amongst others, the group includes Australian firm AGL Energy, Japanese-owned Parkwind and Norwegian firm Orsted. Whilst the announcement has become public within the industry, things could still change as an official decision remains to be published. Offshore wind has been placed at the heart of Victoria’s energy transition plans.

February marks the Ninth consecutive month of record global temperatures

This week, Europe’s climate monitor released the rather concerning news that February 2024 was the warmest February on record globally, making it the ninth straight month of historic high temperatures across the planet. A clear indicator that climate change is continuing to push the world into a new and volatile period of storms, droughts and extreme weather events for many nations. Further supporting this was the Copernicus Climate Change Services statement last month that the period from February 2023 to January 2024 was the first time Earth had endured 12 consecutive months of temperatures 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than the pre-industrial era. February only furthered this theme as it sat 1.77C warmer than the monthly estimate for pre-industrial temperatures.

EU nations commit to exiting fossil fuel generation

A group of Ten countries from the European Union have committed to exit fossil fuel generation by 2035 or sooner. The collective group of nations represent approximately two-thirds of the EU’s electricity generation capacity. Civil society campaign Beyond Fossil Fuels released a report today finding that the ten EU countries – Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands – have all committed to moving their grids away from fossil fuel generation by 2035. 2035 was the date determined by the International Energy Agency needed for European nations to align with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target. Four of the ten – Austria, Denmark, Lithuania, and Luxembourg – have explicitly pledged to replace fossil fuel generation with renewables. Beyond the ten nations, another three EU nations have also made similar commitments but have chosen not to explicitly commit to exit fossil generation by the 2035 line in the sand.