Transforming Australia's energy system should not be beyond us

Over the past 100 years, Australia has built a secure, reliable and affordable energy system, based on large, centralised, fossil-fuelled power stations close to the major cities. Over the next 30 years, this system must be transformed to one based almost entirely on widely-distributed, low-emissions energy sources such as solar and wind with complementary storage. This is an unprecedented economic, political, social and technical challenge.

Rapid reductions in the cost of solar power
suggest technology will not be a constraint.

It shouldn’t be beyond us. Australia has abundant primary energy resources and we are a nation of early adopters of technology. Rapid reductions in the cost of solar power and battery storage suggest that technology will not be a constraint in what will be an electric century.

Read the comment by Tony Wood from The Age - “Transforming Australia's energy system should not be beyond us.”

Australia’s energy future on grid edge - can AMEO give it a push?

The Australian Energy Market Operator has again stressed the vital role that demand management solutions – and not more baseload coal – will play in the safe, stable and economic running of Australia’s electricity grid, as it transitions away from centralised fossil fuel generation and towards distributed renewables.

Speaking at an industry event in Melbourne on Thursday night, AEMO CEO Audrey Zibelman said that the key role of the market operator was to drive productivity of the system – “and the best way to drive productivity of the system was being able to get demand to participate.”

This “demand” Zibelman refers to is the multiple gigawatts – 6GW in small-scale renewables, alone – of energy generation capacity that has been installed by homes and businesses around the country, but that is currently “not visible” to the market operator, and therefore of little use in balancing the grid.

Zibelman wants to change that, and firmly believes that by using non-network solutions to help manage this behind-the-meter capacity, Australia’s grid can make an ‘orderly transition’ to renewables and deliver secure, reliable and affordable energy.

“Read Sophje Vorrath’s story on RenewEconomy  - “Australia’s energy future on grid edge - can AMEO give it a push?”