AEMO chief executive Daniel Westerman said the step change scenario outstripped previous expectations but its model showed the transition could run smoothly with a “substantial increase” of dispatchable power to prepare for when the grid is completely coal-free.Wind and solar farms generate intermittent energy supply to the grid and requirement back up, known as dispatchable power, to fill the gaps when the sun isn’t shining and wind isn’t blowing.
It said a $12.5 billion investment to build the coal-free grid of the future, which needs much more high voltage power lines to link the vast array of new wind and solar farms, battery, gas and pumped-hydro power assets, would deliver $29 billion in net market investments. Significant investment is also needed so the transmissions network can efficiently accommodate the rise in what’s known as distributed energy resources, including households with rooftop solar panels that can feed power back into the grid, and store power in batteries.
“This transformation will efficiently deliver secure, reliable and affordable electricity while substantially contributing to national emissions objectives,” Mr Westerman said.AEMO’s step change model showed the amount of electricity across the energy grid would nearly double by 2050 from 180 to 330 terawatt hours, as coal exits, petrol and diesel cars are replaced by electric vehicles and gas-fired industrial processes are electrified.
In an independent analysis released on Thursday, the Climate Council showed renewable energy growing rapidly. It comprised more than one-third of the National Electricity Market this spring, up 20 per cent on the same time in the previous year.