Australia's coal fired power stations are forecast to close by 2040 but there are "real risks" replacement wind and solar won't be built in time.
Without better coordination of batteries to store the power being generated, the Australian Energy Market Operator has warned billions more will need to be spent on storage: "increasing the costs that are reflected in consumer bills". "Australia's energy transition is well underway, with renewable energy accounting for 40 per cent of electricity used in the past year," said AEMO chief executive Daniel Westerman.
The Smart Energy Council – which is represents large-scale renewables companies – has called for a "national battery booster program" to increase uptake. AEMO has mapped an extra 10,000 kilometres of high-voltage transmission lines that need to be built between now and 2050 to connect far-flung projects to consumers butIn this latest blueprint, AEMO has given the green light for another seven transmission projects to be urgently built across Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia.
It warns "further investment will be required" in the gas sector to ensure reliability, including more supply, upgrades and expansions of existing pipelines, import terminals and increased storage.These statements have been welcomed by the Australian Pipelines and Gas Association's Steve Davies who has used a Beatles reference to illustrate the role gas will play.