Shock new end date for Aussie coal
The death knell for coal-fired power in Australia has been drastically fast-tracked, with solar and wind to provide most of our electricity.
Victoria
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Solar and wind will provide 79 per cent of our electricity by the end of the decade, with the energy market operator drastically fast-tracking plans for the demise of coal-fired power.
According to the market operator’s 30-year reform roadmap, to be released on Friday, 60 per cent of the 23 gigawatts of power produced by coal-fired generators will be shuttered by 2030 and all coal stations will close by 2043.
Renewable energy now covers 28 per cent of our electricity needs, but that will be 79 per cent by the end of the decade and 96 per cent by 2040, with rooftop solar required on two-thirds of Australian homes.
Governments, energy generators and retailers have backed the “once-in-a-century transformation” of the grid, recognising it is necessary to reach net zero emissions as renewables also make coal generators economically unviable.
“This transformation will efficiently deliver secure, reliable and affordable electricity while substantially contributing to national emissions objectives,” energy market operator chief Daniel Westerman said.
The sweeping draft plan, to be finalised next year, reveals Australia will have to double the electricity it produces by 2050 while cutting out coal. By 2030, 12 per cent of road transport will be electrified, rising to 58 per cent by 2040.
This will require a nine-fold increase in large-scale solar and wind farms and five times the number of rooftop solar panels, backed by batteries in most homes.
To make up for the retirement of coal-fired generators, the market operator is planning to treble the firming capacity in the grid with giant batteries, hydro storage and gas generation.
And 10,000km of new transmission lines will have to be installed to bring extra renewable power into the grid.
There are $12.5bn worth of transmission projects in the pipeline, with the market operator recommending work start as soon as possible on an interconnector between Victoria and New South Wales to combat the risk of quicker coal closures.
The transmission upgrades are expected to deliver net market benefits totalling $29bn, returning 2.5 times the investment.
But the market operator warned early community engagement was crucial to secure the required “social licence” for the huge projects, as well as careful planning given the likelihood of supply chain issues causing shortages of materials, equipment and expertise.
More than 200 stakeholders were involved in the market operator’s consultation process, all of which ranked the “fast-paced transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy” as the most likely pathway for the power grid.
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