Australia’s coal power plants are retiring at least five years faster than anticipated, requiring an acceleration of investment in grid transmission, renewable generation and storage to replace it, including $12.5 billion of urgent transmission projects.

Almost two-thirds of coal generation capacity is likely to be gone by 2030, the Australian Energy Market Operator said in its draft blueprint for the power grid for the next 30 years, which has been overhauled with the race to net zero emissions, which the electricity sector is now expected to reach well before 2050.