A continuation of delays and disruptions to new energy projects will impose perilous risks of power outages as soon as the coming summer, amid escalating closures of ageing coal-fired power plants and unexpected blowouts to the deadline and cost of the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro scheme.
report that delays to any projects “have the potential to result in periods of high risk throughout the 10-year horizon”. The report is designed to send an investment signal to the energy market to spur new projects where needed. “While our central scenario shows increased reliability risk, it does not reflect the reliability potential from the 248-gigawatt pipeline of proposed generation and storage projects, actionable transmission projects and government energy programs under way,” he said.
Farmers from the Victoria’s Western District rally on the steps of the state parliament, protesting against transmission lines being built on their properties.That project is reliant on connecting the eastern seaboard grid to Tasmania’s hydropower via the Marinus Link, an undersea cable to Victoria, which has blown out in cost by an estimated $1 billion during the past year to a price tag of $4 billion.
“We’ve had four gigawatts of dispatchable energy leave the grid over the last decade and only one gigawatt come on,” Bowen said.AEMO’s findings backed the federal government’s initiatives and highlighted the demand for government support, such as a $20 billion fund to underwrite private transmission projects and a Capacity Investment Scheme, he said.