Posts by theo@aacs.org.au

Lightsource bp, a leading developer and operator of utility-scale renewable energy projects, achieved a significant milestone in 2024 by securing 10 power purchase agreements totaling 1.3 GW across Europe, the Americas and APAC. This achievement underscores the company’s experience and track record in delivering renewable energy solutions, tailored to meet the diverse needs of corporate and utility buyers across global markets. As energy buyers worldwide increasingly prioritise cost competitiveness and energy resilience, the renewable energy market continues to grow. To date, Lightsource bp has contracted with leading global corporations such as H&M Group, Microsoft, LyondellBasell and Google, which have committed to ambitious renewable energy procurement targets. These contracts demonstrate the rising demand for flexible and tailored corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) that align with operational business strategies and longer-term sustainability goals. Lightsource bp’s continued success stems from the experience and highly specialised track record of its in-house Power Markets team,…

Simply Cups, a recycling program by Australia’s Closed Loop Environmental Solutions, has reached a milestone – collecting and recycling 50 million paper cups across Australia and New Zealand. Traditional paper cups are often lined with plastic, making them difficult to recycle through standard systems. With the Simply Cups initiative, the cups are given a second life through recycling and repurposing efforts. It has more than 1500 collection points and accepts various cups such as coffee, soft drinks, Slurpee, frozen yogurt, and more. Rob Pasco, MD of Closed Loop Environmental Solutions, credits the achievement to community support. “Once the community knows they can recycle their paper cups separately, they make sure they return their cup daily thanks to our many convenient collection locations,” Pasco said. The program’s pioneering partner was 7-Eleven, making 690 location points accessible to the public. Additional locations include schools, universities, shopping centres, office buildings, construction sites, and event…

Viva Energy has produced its first ISCC+ certified bio-based polymer from used cooking oil (UCO), at its Geelong Refinery, an innovation that sets the stage for producing food-grade recycled plastic packaging in Australia. The development follows a proof-of-concept trial in which Viva Energy processed a batch of UCO through its catalytic cracker and adjacent polypropylene plant in Geelong, Victoria. The UCO was sourced from snack manufacturer Intersnack ANZ in New South Wales, where it had been used in the production of popular snack brands such as Kettle Chips, CC’s, Natural Chip Company, Thins, and Cheezels. Later this year, Intersnack ANZ plans to use the resulting ISCC+ certified bio-based material to manufacture plastic packaging for some of its snack products. The initiative complements Viva Energy’s ongoing plastic recycling project with Cleanaway. As part of the trial, Cleanaway collected and processed the UCO to remove impurities before delivering it to the Geelong…

Site is strategically located on the A4 in Hammersmith, and is first existing bp retail site to be transformed into new format EV charging and convenience hub Fuel has been removed from the Cromwell Road site in west London and five ultra-fast 300kW bp pulse chargers installed, capable of charging 10 cars simultaneously The site features an upgraded convenience offer, designed specifically with EV drivers’ needs in mind, including a new freshly made to order wildbean cafe menu and M&S Food range bp today announces the launch of its first new format EV charging and convenience hub at Cromwell Road on the A4 in Hammersmith, London. Fuel has been removed from the site and five ultra-fast bp pulse 300kW chargers installed, each capable of charging two cars simultaneously, with canopies over the chargers. Along with a redesigned convenience store, with upgraded wildbean cafe and M&S Food offer, to cater especially…

The OTR site at Marryatville sold for $4.83m. Picture: Supplied by Burgess Rawson The Shahin family has scored a $25m payday following the sale of three OTR petrol station sites across Adelaide. The family’s Peregrine Corporation retained the freehold real estate as part of its $1.2bn sale of the OTR business in 2024, and late last year brought to market three sites with new long-term leases to the business’s acquirer Viva Energy. After selling two of the sites – at Darlington and Marryatville – at auction in November, Peregrine has wrapped up the sell-off with a $13.8m deal to offload its West Croydon site on Port Rd. That site’s home to a large petrol station and convenience store, Subway eatery and Adelaide’s first Krispy Kreme store and factory. With the Darlington and Marryatville sites fetching $6.015m and $4.83m respectively, the portfolio has brought in a total of $24.645m in total proceeds.…

The launch of Allied Pinnacle’s product range using the high fibre wheat brand, Wise Wheat, has been more than 20 years in the making. Following decades of R&D, the wheat contains six times the fibre of regular wheat flour without impacting the texture or flavour of the finished product. Allied Pinnacle was granted exclusive use of licensed patents for the wheat in 2023 by Arista Cereals, a joint venture between CSIRO and French farmer-led co-operative, Limagrain, that had been researching the grain for 20 years. In Australia, Australian Grain Technologies (AGT) bred the wheat, and it has been grown across New South Wales and Victoria’s wheat belt. Allied Pinnacle CEO, David Pitt, told Food and Drink Business the company is “super excited” to finally be delivering the product to market. “It’s a well-known fact we all have a fibre gap in our diet, it’s a global issue, and here we have a…