What would Australia look like powered by 100% renewable energy?

Liberal party donor and coal plant owner Trevor St Baker is proposing with the help of his mates in government to build two new coal power stations in Australia at the expense of taxpayers.

However, the big four banks and the big three energy companies are not having a bar of it. Indeed the majority of Australia’s energy companies are working towards a very different future for the country’s energy system, a future powered by clean, renewable energy.

Many of the best solar and wind sites in Australia are in remote locations.

There are now at least nine studies conducted during the decade that have analysed how Australia can move from an electricity system based on polluting coal and gas to one powered by the sun, wind and waves.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) – the body tasked with making sure we have energy when we need it – found there were “no fundamental limits to 100% renewables”, and that the current standards of the system’s security and reliability would be maintained.

These studies show different pathways towards 100% renewable energy, but what they all agree on is that it can be achieved.

Read the story from The Guardian by Nicky Ison - “What would Australia look like powered by 100% renewable energy?”

Virtual power plants are in vogue, but they can be like taking a sledgehammer to a nut

The fleet of small-scale solar systems, batteries and flexible loads in our electricity system will grow rapidly in coming years. But how to coordinate them efficiently in our complex electricity grid, and how to make sure their owners get a fair return?

Sculpture-like solar panels near the Adelaide Festival
Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, SA, Australia.

Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are the talk of the town right now. But they may turn out to be like using a sledgehammer on a walnut. More nuanced systems are being developed to integrate large numbers of small-scale solar systems and batteries into the grid. If successful, they will be able to apply market principles to deploy and reward these so-called distributed energy resources.

Read the piece on The Conversation - “Virtual power plants are in vogue, but they can be like taking a sledgehammer to a nut.”

Josh Frydenberg warns states against going it alone on clean energy target

The Turnbull government has warned the states their threat to "go it alone" on a clean energy target will only create chaos and inefficiency in the nation's electricity system.

Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg leads
 a COAG energy council meeting in October. 

Energy ministers will clash on Friday as the states seek to pressure the Turnbull government to decide whether it will adopt a clean energy target - the key recommendation of Chief Scientist Alan Finkel's review of Australia's energy security - despite ongoing internal divisions over the policy proposal.

Led by South Australian Treasurer Tim Koutsantonis, the Labor states on Thursday threatened to bypass the federal government altogether. Without swift progress on Friday they would ask the Australian Energy Market Commission to model how a state-based target would work, Mr Koutsantonis said.

Read Adam Gartrell’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Josh Frydenberg warns states against going it alone on clean energy target.”

The government’s new energy plans will leave investors less confident than ever.

Australians should be deeply concerned about the signals coming from the Turnbull government since this month’s release of Chief Scientist Alan Finkel’s landmark report on the future of Australia’s electricity system.

The bid to keep the lights on is prompting ever more
government meddling in electricity markets.

On Tuesday the government announced a new package of policies for the electricity sector. This includes asking the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to look at “how to ensure that new continuous dispatchable power is provided, including what support is needed to promote new investment”.

Effectively, the government is asking AEMO to identify whether Australia has enough “baseload” generation and, if not, how the government should go about getting more.

Read the piece on The Conversation by an Energy Fellow from the Grattan Institute, Dvid Blowers - “The government’s new energy plans will leave investors less confident than ever.”

Businesses, households to be paid to use less electricity next summer

Victorian businesses and households will be able to volunteer to get paid to use less electricity at times of stress on the national grid under a program to be trialled next summer.

Incentive payments will be offered to energy users who agree to be on standby to cut use during emergencies or on days of high electricity demand. They will get a further compensation payment if they are called on to actually cut use.

The $22.5 million demand response pilot program, to be jointly run by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and also taking in South Australia, is pitched as an important step in integrating renewable energy into the grid.

AEMO chief executive Audrey Zibelman said it would help the electricity system deal with high demand as it unfolds without the need to build expensive fossil fuel plants – gas-fired generators – that are only called on occasionally.

Read Adam Morton’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Businesses, households to be paid to use less electricity next summer.”

Greens push for electricity crisis to be taken out of politicians' hands.

The cost of solar power generation
has come down rapidly. 

The Greens are pushing for a new public authority to take responsibility for Australia's beleaguered electricity system out of politicians' hands.

It follows several organisations, including energy company Origin, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and ClimateWorks, calling for an independent body, similar to the Reserve Bank, to manage what has been described as an energy crisis.

Read Adam Morton’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Greens push for electricity crisis to be taken out of politicians' hands.”

Solar power generation will jump in gowth by 2030

Solar power generation could grow from 2% of the global total to 13% by 2030, according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The solar industry is poised for a massive expansion, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), as highlighted in a new report published this week, Letting in the Light: How Solar Photovoltaics Will Revolutionize the Electricity System. Specifically, the report concludes that solar could generate 13% of the world’s electricity by 2030, with capacity growing to sit somewhere between 1,760 GW and 2,500 GW, up from only 277 GW today.

Read the CleanTechnica story - “Solar Power Could Account For 13% Of World Electricity Generation By 2030, Says IRENA.”