Chris Bowen jeers ‘always-on’ generation as rooftop solar at risk

Chris Bowen has defended an increasingly decentralised power grid against calls for more ‘always on power’ like ­nuclear, despite four million Australian households facing the threat of ­restrictions on their rooftop solar supplies.

Australia has the world’s largest proliferation of rooftop solar.

Climate Change and Energy ­Minister Chris Bowen has defended an increasingly decentralised power grid against calls for more “always on power” like ­nuclear, despite four million Australian households facing the threat of ­restrictions on their rooftop solar supplies to stop the power grid being flooded with excess ­electricity.

As Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton put cost of living and energy bills at the centre of their informal pre-election summer blitz of key seats, the power grid operator has warned too much solar generation risks pushing local distribution lines to breaking point. With rooftop solar at its peak supplying up to half the needs of the electricity system, a new “emergency backstop” mechanism will be introduced to tem­porarily solve the problem of too much solar overwhelming the grid.

The Energy Minister said the solar move was part of the journey to a modern power grid with solar, wind and batteries set to replace coal generation as Australia’s main form of electricity.

“Per AEMO’s advice today: ‘AEMO is supporting the continued uptake of rooftop solar, residential batteries and electric vehicles while maintaining reliable electricity support through a secure grid’,” Mr Bowen’s spokeswoman said.

“AEMO’s advice also highlights how Australia’s energy grid is increasingly decentralised and able to draw on household solar, which is fundamentally incompatible with an expensive, always-on power like nuclear.”

The move comes as more than 2000 Essential Energy power workers in NSW began a series of rolling 72-hour work stoppages, risking the operations of rural power supplies across the state.

It follows several precarious days last week when NSW only narrowly avoided blackouts after the operator used emergency powers to ensure sufficient electricity supplies as it grappled with hot temperatures and a spate of outages at coal power stations.

Electrical Trades Union NSW and ACT secretary Allen Hicks said the state government had “abandoned” electricity workers, criticising what he said was a solitary phone call from state Energy Minister Penny Sharpe when ­rejecting its demands.

The union said the statewide stoppages would not affect “essential” energy needs, such as ensuring power was fixed for hospitals, and it would not of itself increase the chance of blackouts.

“What it will mean is if there is a blackout and power is off, our members, even though they are on strike, will go out to those communities with hospitals and people with life support (to ensure power),” Mr Hicks said.

“But for those non-essential types of electricity, consumers and businesses may have their power off for longer if there is a blackout.”

Industrial action will continue into the new year, with the ETU hoping to “drive the government to the table” for a “reasonable offer”, for what the union says would achieve parity with Victorian and Queensland workers.

The Australian Energy Market Operator said the growth in rooftop solar was making it increasingly challenging for it to manage grid stability and on some sunny days, rooftop solar meant demand for electricity from the grid was falling to historic lows.

While low demand for electricity would likely put downward pressure on bills, the AEMO said it is faced with the challenge of ­ensuring enough capacity from other types, most notably coal generation, to keep the grid stable.

Australian households are turning to solar to minimise their bills.

AEMO executive general manager of operations Michael Gatt said it frequently managed the trend through such actions as turning on more transmission to allow rooftop solar to flow into the system, but it could soon run out of options as rooftop solar grows.

“In rare circumstances, AEMO may need to take action to secure the grid, such as directing off-grid scale generation, to solve these emergency events which often occur at the same time as unplanned generation and transmission outages,” Mr Gatt said. “However, after all these actions have been exhausted, the temporary management of rooftop solar by network operators under state government solar management programs may still be required, although we expect this may only occur in very rare circumstances.”

Mr Gatt said the states and Mr Bowen agreed to implement plans to manage the rising risk of rooftop solar, and these would need to be actioned quickly.

Only South Australia has so far installed complete plans, as other states move slowly to implement what shapes as a politically divisive policy.

The warning from AEMO comes as the Opposition Leader weaponises the three-year anniversary of then opposition leader Mr Albanese promising Australians Labor would cut their power bills by $275 a year by 2025.

With mounting pressure on the Coalition to release its broader energy policy and nuclear costings, Mr Dutton will launch an attack through social media attempting to discredit the Prime Minister’s trustworthiness. “Labor promised you a $275 cut to your electricity bills 97 times before the last election. But what has he delivered? Electricity prices are now up to $1000 more than what Labor promised,” Mr Dutton said.

“You couldn’t believe what the PM said three years ago, and you certainly can’t believe him now. We are on an energy policy trainwreck under Labor. Next year, Australians face a clear choice: Labor’s costly ‘renewables-only’ agenda or the Coalition’s affordable, balanced energy mix – including zero-emissions nuclear energy – to get our country back on track.”

Australia has the world’s largest rooftop solar proliferation and energy companies, most notably Origin Energy, expect the rapid rate of growth will soar.

Increased solar generation from households and businesses will shelter those from any surge in bills and could help Australia reach net-zero targets in a more efficient manner.

Soaring amounts of solar also risks flooding localised areas. Electricity produced by rooftop solar and not used by households is exported back to the grid. But too much solar generation risks pushing local distribution lines to breaking point.

Increasing rooftop solar could also help Australia’s energy transition. Should rooftop solar continue to grow, it could minimise the amount of large-scale renewable projects and high-voltage transmission lines that must be built.

But Australia desperately needs household batteries uptake to grow rapidly, which would minimise the amount of electricity being exported back into the grid and it would also help temper demand during the evening period.

Originally published as Chris Bowen jeers ‘always-on’ generation as rooftop solar at risk