The contract commences in May 2024, with an initial five-year term plus three two-year extension options and is valued at an estimated $600 million to Downer over the initial term.

Downer said it will be responsible for delivering capital works for the water, sewerage and recycled water networks within the Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay regions, as well as works across Unitywater’s 17 sewerage treatment plants in the Sunshine Coast, Noosa and Moreton Bay regions.

The programs will be delivered under a collaborative, target cost commercial structure. The full scope of work includes program management services, stakeholder management, business case development, and construction and commissioning of water and wastewater assets.

Downer Group Chief Executive Officer, Peter Tompkins, said the contract reinforced Downer’s position as a leading provider of water and wastewater services in Australia and New Zealand.

“With the award of this contract, Downer now supports water and wastewater services to more than 13 million Australians – more than half the Australian population,” Mr Tompkins said.

“This is an important contract award for Downer in a growth sector where Downer has industry leading expertise. We have previously partnered with Unitywater on a range of projects, however, this new long-term collaborative style contract will significantly expand our relationship.

“We look forward to working closely with Unitywater to deliver these vital services to this rapidly growing region in south-east Queensland and contributing to Unitywater’s net zero emissions targets as well as creating sustainable employment outcomes and opportunities for local service providers and suppliers.”

Downer was trading flat at $4.85.

This agreement, combined with a previous PPA with EnergyAustralia, positions Genex and J-POWER to begin the debt financing process for K3W, aiming for a final investment decision in 2024.

Stanwell, a publicly owned energy company, will purchase 50 per cent of K3W’s wind energy output and large-scale generation certificates at a fixed price for 15 years, with annual increases based on the consumer price index and a cap.

This agreement, along with the previous PPA with EnergyAustralia, secures off-take for 80 per cent of the project’s output, facilitating significant debt financing for construction.

“Securing Stanwell as the majority off-taker for the project, a highly reputable entity, underscores the appeal of the generation profile of the project and Genex’s track record in successful delivery of large and complex renewable energy and storage projects,” Genex CEO Craig Francis said.

With this agreement in place, K3W becomes the next phase of the Kidston Clean Energy Hub, utilising the existing transmission line and network infrastructure built for the 250MW Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project.

As a result, Genex will prioritise the development of K3W and not the proposed 270MW Kidston Stage Two Solar Project.

Genex has maintained its 50MW Stage 1 Solar Farm at Kidston since 2017.

GNX shares last traded at 17.3 cents.

The company reported high-quality rock conditions in its announcement the tunnel was complete.

The tunnel in question will provide permanent access to the Kidston power station underground – once it’s built.

Genex expects excavation works to continue further to design the housing cavern to the desired shape.

Genex’s Kidston project has not been without its issues.

In late 2022, costs of the project blew out by $10-$15 million when water penetrated into the main access tunnel shaft.

That incident saw a consortium dubbed ‘Skip/Stonepeak’ falter in its previously expressed intention to value Genex at $735 million.

That consortium, offering to value Genex at $0.73 million, included Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar via Skip Capital.

The US firm Stonepeak meanwhile holds US$57 billion dollars under management.

At the time, the consortium’s offer represented a premium of 85 per cent to Genex’s contemporaneous share price of 13.5 cents.

That occurred in August. Shareholders then ran the price up to 24cps, matching the valuation.

But once water issues became apparent, the deal froze. Skip/Stonepeak abandoned the deal.

Shares fell back to 13.5cps, and today they’re not much higher, at 15.8 cents.

Genex CEO Craig Francis today acknowledged the difficult last 12 months.

“We are extremely pleased with the way in which the Genex and EPC Contractor teams responded to the water ingress event last year, completing the redesign and recommencing production with minimal delay,” he said.

“This has limited the time and cost impacts of the water ingress event on the overall project.”

Mr Francis also described the access tunnel completion as “extremely significant,”

Genex’s own founder, Simon Kidston, has previously acknowledged pumped hydro projects take too long to meet urgent net zero goals.

In short, its easier to establish solar farms than it is to wait for up to half a decade, or more, for a hydro project.

Australia’s own CSIRO has previously called for an acceleration of development timelines – to this document is what Kidston nodded.

All in all, Genex has been building on its Kidston play for a decade.

The company listed on the ASX once works were well underway as a means to acquire capital funding.

The 250MW/2000MWh project is, on paper, some eight months away from completion.

The stock also produced big batteries and other renewable projects.

GNX shares last traded at 15.8 cents.

In the integrated gas segment, revenue from Australia Pacific LNG saw an 11 per cent decrease in the June quarter due to lower oil prices, although it was 21 per cent higher for the financial year.

Production for the quarter was higher than the previous quarter, as the company carried out more well workover and optimisation activities.

The Australia Pacific LNG’s average realised LNG price for the quarter was US$12.24 (A$18.34) per metric million British thermal units (mmbtu), and the average domestic price equalled A$6.79/GJ.

In the energy markets division, electricity sales volumes increased by one per cent for the fiscal year 2023, driven by a three per cent increase in business volumes. However, retail volumes saw a two per cent decrease primarily due to lower household usage.

Gas sales volumes, on the other hand, decreased by five per cent compared to the previous year, due to lower gas usage for power generation and a reduction in business volumes.

Origin made notable strides in its renewable energy endeavours, acquiring a five per cent equity interest in Allegro Energy, a clean-tech company based in Newcastle. Additionally, the company acquired Warrane Farm as a greenfield wind development opportunity in the New England Renewable Energy Zone.

“I’m pleased to report strong operational performance across both our integrated gas and energy markets businesses,” ORG CEO Frank Calabria said.

“In Queensland, our teams worked hard to bring more wells online and optimise well performance, and this drove a recovery in gas production, following the impacts of wet weather in prior periods.

“Improved production has enabled Australia Pacific LNG to continue to meet the gas needs of export customers and provide a major contribution to the domestic market.”

Origin’s progress in growing renewables and storage is evident through the final investment decision on the Eraring battery and a trial of long-duration storage at the site.

Despite challenges posed by market fluctuations, Origin remains committed to advancing sustainable energy solutions and strengthening its market position.

ORG shares were down 0.47 per cent, trading at $8.48 at 2:36 pm AEST.

The purchase will upgrade the company’s stake in One New Zealand to 99.9 per cent, with the acquisition to be funded through an NZ$850 million equity raising.

The equity raising will comprise a NZ$750 million underwritten placement and aNZ$100 million non-underwritten retail offer, along with cash reserves and debt facilities.

The placement will comprise the issue of 81.5 million new shares at NZ$9.20 per share, representing approximately 11.2 per cent of existing issued capital, to raise NZ$750 million.

The new shares represent a discount of 8.9 per cent to the last NZ stock market closing price on Tuesday, June 6 2023.

One NZ is a leading digital services and connectivity company with population coverage of more than 98 per cent throughout New Zealand, and following 2019, Infratil has been involved in the company’s ongoing development.

“Further investment in One NZ is strategically and financially compelling for Infratil and our shareholders,” Infratil CEO Jason Boyes said.

“One NZ has had strong momentum following the recent rebrand and other business transformation initiatives that are ongoing, with further upside to be realised.

Full control of One NZ provides a business plan and capital allocation flexibility and a renewed focus on long-term value creation.”

Following the completion of the equity raise and acquisition of One NZ, Infratil’s wholly-owned group gearing is expected to be 18.7 per cent and will hold NZ$927.7 million in liquidity.

IFT shares were trading at $9.20 at 11:15 am AEST

The proposed takeover would see Origin split into two separate businesses: Integrated Gas and Energy Markets.

Additionally, ConocoPhillips has agreed to acquire a 2.49 per cent interest in Australia Pacific LNG from MidOcean following the implementation of the scheme. Origin said steps had begun for an “orderly transfer” of its service provider roles to Conoco.

The proposed deal values Origin shares at $8.91, based on an AUD/USD exchange rate of 70 cents — a revised proposal to the November offer from the consortium of $7.95 per share.

Origin Chairman Scott Perkins said the transaction represented a significant premium to the ORG share price prior to the original indicative proposal and reflected the “strategic nature” of Origin’s platform, its growth prospects and anticipated earning recovery.

Moreover, Origin’s CEO Frank Calabria said the company believed the transaction stood to benefit the broader Australian community.

“It will unlock significant capital that can help the energy transition and deliver benefits in the form of cleaner, smarter and lower-cost energy for our nation over time,” Mr Calabria said.

While the board supports the deal, shareholder approval is needed for it to go through, as well as court and regulatory approvals.

The parties are hoping to seal the deal early in the 2024 calendar year.

ORG shares were up 0.9 per cent and trading at $8.25 at 1:39 pm AEDT.

The new buyers, InfraRed Capital Partners and Northleaf Capital Partners, will each hold 40 per cent of the new towers entity, TowerCo, with Infratil to reinvest proceeds from the sale to buy a 20 per cent stake in the entity.

The sale, according to Infratil, represents a 2023 financial year Pro-forma earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) multiple of 33.8 times.

Infratil said the new TowerCo would comprise 1484 mobile towers and would be the largest New Zealand towers business, covering around 98 per cent of the country’s population.

Under the deal, TowerCo will enter into a 20-year master services agreement with Vodafone NZ to provide Vodafone with access to existing and new towers. TowerCo will also build at least 390 additional sites over the next 10 years.

Infratil CEO Jason Boyes said today’s asset sale highlighted why Vodafone NZ was an “excellent” Infratil investment.

“We have unlocked a significant portion of the value of our original equity invested in Vodafone, whilst retaining that investment and a 20 per cent stake in TowerCo,” Mr Boyes said.

“InfraRed Capital Partners and Northleaf Capital are high-calibre investors who share our vision for what the new TowerCo can deliver across New Zealand. This transaction is a win-win for Infratil shareholders.

The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to approval from Canada’s Overseas Investment Office.

Infratil shares last traded at $7.25 on July 15.

A total of 9.57 million new shares will be issued at the same price as a recent placement of 17 cents.

The SPP was originally designed to raise $2 million, but the company said it has no intention to place any further shares.

The funds will be directed towards a number of activities, including cash back performance bonds for engineer procure and construct contracts.

It will also be used to develop a forward contracting strategy in relation to Large Scale Generation certificates.

Finally, the money will assist with working capital and continued development of the company’s bioenergy infrastructure project pipeline.

Shares were trading flat today 16.5 cents each at 3:16 pm AEST.

The placement was made to domestic sophisticated investor clients of RM Capital and Morgans, with 26.47 million new shares issued at 17 cents each.

Delorean said it also intends undertaking a share purchase plan (SPP) with the aim of raising up to a further $2 million.

Eligible shareholders will be able to apply for up to $30,000 worth of new Delorean shares, which will be offered at the same price as the placement price of 17 cents each.

The SPP will open on Thursday April 7 and is scheduled to close on Friday April 22. The shares under the SPP will be issued on April 28.

Delorean said the placement and SPP funds will go towards underpinning further growth and supporting its infrastructure project development pipeline.

The company said signing of an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for delivery of Yarra Valley Water’s $40 million-$50 million bioenergy facility was pending.

DEL shares were down 10 per cent to 18 cents at 2:10 pm AEST.

The Sunraysia Solar Farm, in Balranald NSW, has been approved for operations and the process to obtain substantial completion under the contract has commenced and is expected to be achieved on or before January 31, 2022. This will enable a transition into the operation and maintenance contract.

Main Roads, Western Australia has awarded a $23.3 million contract to Decmil Group for the construction of the a section of the Mitchell Freeway Principal Shared Path.

The contract is expected to commence immediately and be complete in September 2022.

The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads has also awarded Decmil Group a $4.5 million contract to upgrade up to 5.1 kilometres of road on the Capricorn Highway between Emerald and Winton Creek.

Decmil Group shares were up 6 percent at 34 cents at 10.30am AEDT

The valuation was completed independently with the last valuation completed at the end of June.

Infratil has a 48 per cent investment in CDC which is now valued at about $2.762 billion, up from $2.457 billion.

The company says the valuation increase reflects the pipeline of development and strong customer interest in CDC’s services.

CDC currently has four data centres under construction across Auckland, Canberra, and Sydney.

It is also planning expansion to Melbourne with the first phase of construction expected to commence soon. This was included in the valuation on the basis of a conservative uptake of capacity.

The valuer reduced the blended discount rate range to between 9.65 per cent and 10.05 per cent. This reflects the reduced risk associated with New Zealand data centres nearing the end of construction.

Due to the valuation, the company advised its FY22 International Portfolio Annual Incentive Fee is now $70 million, representing a $60 million increase since the end of September.

The assessment of the incentive fee in regards to Longroad Energy and Retire Australia has not been updated since the end of September.

The company notes that the International Portfolio Annual Incentive Fee will be determined on March 31 and based on independent valuations of each relevant investment.

Company shares closed today’s session trading 1.03 per cent lower at $7.67 each.

Under the offtake agreement, Tesla will operate the project using its proprietary algorithm-based bidding system, Autobidder.

Autobidder is a real-time trading and control platform that uses a machine-learning algorithm to reportedly optimise dispatch behaviour while adapting to new markets and services. Autobidder is currently operating at Hornsdale Power Reserve (HPR) in South Australia.

The platform is hoped to maximise the revenue of the project during each given year.

The autobidder offtake agreement offers a fixed and floating payment structure.

Genex said the fixed component extends cash flow certainty to the project lenders, while the floating revenue share component allows it to retain upside revenue exposure to merchant cash flows from the energy arbitrage and frequency control ancillary services markets.

After eight years, once the agreement has concluded, Genex will enter into a license agreement with Tesla to operate Autobidder on the project.

The deal follows a supply agreement signed in October that agreed to see Tesla provide the project with 40 Tesla Megapacks, an all-in-one utility-scale energy storage system optimised for cost and performance.

James Harding, Genex Chief Executive Officer, said the company is extremely pleased to have signed the Autobidder offtake agreement with Tesla after the execution of the Megapack supply agreement.

“The unique integration of Tesla’s Megapack battery technology and a revenue sharing arrangement utilising Autobidder will reduce the complexity of the project,” Mr Harding.

“Importantly the structure of the Agreement provides a minimum level of contracted revenues to support project funding, while allowing Genex to retain significant merchant upside.”

Genex Power last traded at 19 cents on December 8.

The placement will see the issue of 26.4 million new shares at a price of 9 cents per share.

Subscribers will receive one attaching option for every four shares subscribed for with a strike price of 7 cents per share and an expiry date of 31 December.

Demand for the placement exceeded more than two times the amount raised, and the company welcomes several new funds, family offices and new shareholders to the register.

ReNu Energy CEO Greg Watson said the proceeds will be applied to progress the company’s portfolio of renewable and clean energy incubator/accelerator strategy.

“The funds raised from this placement will be used to progress the Company’s compelling portfolio of renewable and clean energy investments,” he said.

“Our focus now is on completing the acquisition of 100 per cent of Countrywide Renewable Hydrogen, advancing the pipeline of green hydrogen opportunities and progressing the company’s other investments.”

Leading Melbourne-boutique, Peak Asset Management, acted as Corporate Advisor and Lead Manager to the capital raising.

ReNu Energy shares ended the day 7.22 per cent in the red at 9 cents at market close.

Delorean’s engineering division will be responsible for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the plant with an initial two-year contract for the anaerobic digestion facility.

Aligning with Delorean’s bioenergy plants, anaerobic digestion is a natural process that converts organic waste to clean, green energy without the use of incineration.

The new Yarra Valley Lilydale facility will process an average of 150 cubic metres of organic waste per day using anaerobic digestion. It will produce 1.2 megawatts of electricity and supply the adjacent sewage treatment plant with surplus energy exported to the grid.

This planned facility follows the retail water corporation’s food waste-to-energy facility in Wollert, Melbourne, which has been operating since 2017.

Ultimately, the Lilydale project will support Yarra Valley Water’s goals of producing 100 per cent of its own energy by 2025 and achieving net zero emissions by 2030.

The preferred tender status was awarded on the basis of a competitive tender with a total design and construction contract sum of between $40 and $50 million. Once the contract terms are finalised and DEL submits the relevant documents, a contract will be formally executed which is expected before the end of the year.

“The appointment of Delorean Corporation as preferred tenderer for the project represents another major milestone in the company’s rapid expansion and affirms Delorean’s leadership in the bioenergy infrastructure sector in Australia,” Managing Director Joe Oliver said.

Initial build works are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2022 once planning, regulatory and ministerial approvals are received.

DEL shares were up 12.2 per cent on the back of this news to trade at 23 cents at 11:55 am AEDT.

The company said in a statement to the ASX this morning it was set to issue 370.4 million new shares to institutional and sophisticated investors at 2.7 cents each — an 18 per cent discount to Kalina’s last closing share price of 3.3 cents. 

Kalina said it would use the funding boost to advance its work in Alberta, Canada. Specifically, the company is looking to lock in full notice to proceed (FTNP) for its Kalina Energy Centre in Saddie Hills. 

On top of this, Kalina said it was also looking to bid its tech on various “industrial Waste Heat to Power opportunities”. 

Kalina said it would be able to place 266.2 million shares — altogether worth just under $7.2 million — without the need for shareholder approval.

The company will seek shareholder approval for the remaining shares to be issued under the placement at an upcoming annual general meeting (AGM). 

Managing Director Ross MacLachlan thanked shareholders for their support in the placement. 

“On behalf of the board, I am pleased to welcome the participation of several new institutions joining our register and the large number of sophisticated investors who have joined many of our current shareholders in supporting this placement,” Mr MacLachlan said. 

Kalina’s technology is designed to turn heat from industrial processes — such as petrochemical, steel and cement making — into electricity to supplement the power requirements of the manufacturing facilities from which these products are made. 

This lowers energy costs for the producers and allows for the generation of renewable energy from geothermal and solar thermal sources.

Shares in Kalina Power closed 12.12 per cent lower at 2.9 cents each. 

The Sengkang PSC comprises a number of gas fields in southern Sulawesi, with the project being the first integrated private gas and power development in Indonesia.

Established in 2018, EMA is an upstream oil and gas explorer and developer that is a privately owned subsidiary of Bakrie Group.

The two parties first entered into deeds of assignment back in November 2018, through which EMA has taken up 49 per cent participation in the Sengkang PSC, with EEES taking the remaining 51 per cent.

EWC said the arrangements were fully approved by Indonesia’s minister of energy and mineral resources, with the partnership set to be adjusted to 50:50 participation at a set date in the future.

Energy World CEO and Chairman Stewart Elliott commented on the deal: “We welcome this new partnership that combines the strength of EEES and EMA [and] will enable the development of the Sengkang PSC to its full potential as we migrate from an SKK Migas cost recovery structure of operation that expires in October 2022 to a gross split structure for 20 years until October 2042.”

EWC anticipates the partnership will benefit its business in Indonesia.

Energy World shares were trading 4.9 per cent higher at 8.6 cents each at 4:12 pm AEST.

LPE is an electricity provider specialising in renewable solutions using shared solar batteries and centralised hot water to give strata communities an immediate reduction in electricity costs.The company has added more than 2,300 new customers since March 31, with over 1,400 added in May 2021 alone. This represents a 31 per cent growth from the previous corresponding period of May 2020, which the company says points towards the potential for further growth during FY2022.The ratio of strata customers to retail remains consistent at 60/40. LPE says it anticipates this ratio will strengthen further towards high value, contracted customers as its shared solar product continues to be rolled out.The company says it is also on track to deliver against its guidance of an additional 10,000 customers in the current financial year of FY2021.

“I’m very proud of all our sales teams, as during the month of May we continued to break daily, weekly and monthly intake records customer numbers,” LPE Chairman Justin Pettett said.“We still have a lot of hard work ahead of us with the roll out of our shared solar product, a compelling option for strata communities to deliver renewable energy to their residents. However with our highly dedicated team I am confident we can continue to achieve and exceed milestones.”LPE shares were down 1.19 per cent, trading at 20.8 cents at 12:40 pm AEST.

Aspen is one of several companies chosen by the Australian Federal Government to assist with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout by providing extra immunisation workforce. Aspen has also been engaged to roll out COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. and the UAE.

Under the Heads of Agreement, PuriflOH will provide air conditioner coil disinfection technologies and a whole-of-room air purifier for field pilot sites.

“We are very pleased to be partnering with PuriflOH. The FRG technology is a powerful addition to our general infection control regimes for high-traffic enclosed spaces,” said Aspen Executive Chairman and Founder Glenn Keys AO.

“Our technology delivers the assurance of superior air disinfection, not simply purification alone. The powerful free radicals are short-lived, rapidly decomposing into water and oxygen after the disinfection,” said PuriflOH Technical Director Dr Alex Sava.

Third-party testing of the technology has previously validated it to be 99.99 per cent effective against airborne biological and chemical contaminants.

At this point, the arrangement is non-binding but outlines the companies’ intention to enter an exclusive supply and distribution agreement.

PO3 shares last traded at $1.37 on May 11, 2021.

The project is set to be the first in Australia to achieve the ‘green gas to mains’ milestone.

Delorean will acquire Clean Peak Energy’s 70 per cent share of Delorean Energy SA One (DESAO) for $2.1 million, after previously holding a 30 per cent stake in the project.

The project assets include project land in Edinburgh Parks, purchased in October 2019 for $1.05 million, plus a 4.68-megawatt export grid connection and full development approval for the construction of a Bioenergy Anaerobic Digestion facility processing 125 kilotonnes per annum of organic waste.The assets also include $360,000 in cash held in DESAO, $100,000 in South Australian government grant funding, with a further $50,000 on facility operating reports to total $1 million.

With sole ownership of the project, Delorean says its intention is to complete the project investment under a finance package including cash and debt facilities with Commonwealth Bank, supported by approved and pending Government-funded concessional loans and grants.

The project will be fully-funded by existing cash reserves and facilities, with the company expecting no further equity funding required for the project.

“We are excited to have full ownership of the project so we can complete the financial investment decision and progress to construction with certainty in a timeline that we can control,” said Delorean Managing Director, Joe Oliver.“Renewable gas is key in decarbonising the gas network and we are pleased to be pioneering this with a project at commercial scale in Australia.”

The project is now expected to move into construction before September 2021.

Delorean shares are up 3.33 per cent, trading at 23.3 cents at 1:30 pm AEST.  

Last month, the company’s Canadian subsidiary, Kalina Distributed Power (KDP), purchased a new location that can accommodate two 32-megawatt combined cycle power plants.

Notably, this is KALiNA’s primary site, where it intends to build its first two plants.

The cleantech company continues to make progress at the plant and is looking to secure site control at additional 64-megawatt locations. KDP has already submitted applications for three such sites.

Therefore, KDP has so far filed 320 megawatts in applications for potential power generation projects that are currently in development.

Managing Director Ross MacLachlan is pleased with the progress across all of KALiNA’s Canadian assets.

“Particularly noteworthy is the efforts underway to secure site control at additional 64MW locations, that if successful will establish KALiNA as animportant power producer in Alberta and garner attention in international markets,” he said.

“As we secure more sites and increase our profile, more third parties are coming to recognise the value and solid ESG characteristics of our zero-emissions, KALiNA Cycle waste heat to power technology. There is excellent momentum across the company now and we look forward to updating our progress in the near term,” he added.

On the market today, KALiNA is down 2 per cent and trading at 4.9 cents per share at 11:00 am AEST.