United Kingdom generating almost as much solar power as Australia

Many Australians love their solar panels but one embarrassing figure shows just how bad we are compared to other countries.

Australia still has the resources to retain its title of being the “lucky country” but one ridiculous figure shows just how far we are lagging behind others.

The transition to renewable energy is happening so quickly that even in countries like the United Kingdom, which is not known for its sunny climate, the amount of electricity being generated by wind and solar is already double what’s being produced in Australia.

Leading energy analyst Honorary Associate Professor Hugh Saddler of the Australian National University told news.com.au the UK was generating almost as much solar as Australia’s “sunburnt” plains.

“I think most Australians wouldn’t think the UK is a good place for solar or wind but it has a far bigger share of its electricity coming from wind, and also has solar as well, which is just ridiculous really,” Dr Saddler said.

Time Is Now is part of news.com.au’s partnership with the Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub, looking at the impacts of climate change across Australia by 2050

The latest figures from the Statistical Review of World Energy covering 2019, show the United Kingdom was generating 12.7 terawatt-hours (TWh) worth of electricity from solar, compared to 18 TWH in Australia.

It is also generating three times as much wind energy.

The UK is producing 64.1 TWh, while Australia generates just 19.5 TWh.

This is despite the fact that Australia is about 32 times bigger than the UK.

The figures are even more sad when you consider that around 17 per cent of Australia’s renewable energy in 2019 came from rooftop solar panels and solar hot water. Large-scale solar contributed just 2 per cent to the country’s power grid.

This means an overwhelming proportion of Australia’s solar has been largely bought and paid for by individual businesses and homeowners, although government subsidies have been available.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been quick to spruik Australia as having the “highest solar uptake on households in the world”, with a rate of renewable uptake eight times the global average per capita.

“Australia is doing its part as part of the solution,” Mr Morrison told reporters during a press conference on August 10.

Given the figures a more accurate description would be that Australians, not Australia, are doing their part.

The UK generates almost as much electricity from solar as Australia does. Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

‘We’re lagging behind’

Dr Saddler produced a report recently for the Australia Institute that showed Australia’s overall energy transition has been worse than all 22 other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies, as well as Russia.

He said the Australian economy remained the most emissions intensive energy system among OECD countries, with the exception of Poland.

“We’re really lagging behind the great majority of other countries,” he said.

Electricity contributes the most to Australia’s emissions, with 33 per cent coming from this sector. However, electricity emissions have fallen 20.9 per cent since June 2009 thanks to renewables replacing coal.

This year, the International Energy Agency, a global authority on energy investment and policy decisions, published a report showing the electricity sector would need to get to net zero emissions by 2040 if the world wanted to keep warming to 1.5C.

ClimateWorks Australia country lead Anna Malos said it had modelled several different scenarios on how Australia could reach net zero by 2050 and all of these required big change to the country’s electricity sector.

Ms Malos said getting coal out of the electricity sector quickly would also help Australia to reduce emissions in other sectors, such as transport.

Emissions from transport, which account for 17.6 per cent of Australia’s emissions, have increased by 43 per cent since 1990 despite the recent disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

What about reliability?

The most report from Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) released on August 31, examined the electricity outlook in Australia for the next 10 years, and found no “reliability gaps” expected in the next five years, although extreme events could still affect supply.

This is thanks to more renewables coming online and new “dispatchable” battery storage, as well as investment in transmission lines and reduced peak demand.

“In less than five years, AEMO expects there will be enough resource potential (in renewables) to supply 100 per cent of demand in the NEM (National Electricity Market) at times,” the report said.

It predicts that by 2026, rooftop solar on commercial and residential properties on the mainland could supply up to 77 per cent of total electricity demand at times.

However, more investment is required, with large coal generators scheduled to retire in Victoria and NSW around 2030.

Electricity demand is also expected to rise as people switch from petrol to electric cars, or from gas to electric appliances.

This demand could rise even further if “green hydrogen” is successfully developed as the process requires electricity to turn it into fuel.

The site of a proposed hydrogen park project on Derby Street, Gladstone.

In order to secure future dispatchable supply, the Federal Government is focusing its funding on gas and potential hydrogen projects.

It recently announced funding for three NSW projects: $600 million for a gas-fired power plant in Kurri Kurri, which follows a $5 million investment in the fast-start hydrogen and gas capable Tallawarra B at Lake Illawarra, and $30 million towards the $1.3 billion hydrogen-gas turbine power station at Port Kembla.

But Ms Malos said gas was not the only option when it came to ensuring the reliability of the electricity system.

While gas peaking plants can be turned on and ramped up quickly to provide capacity during busy times, this was an expensive option to ensure supply for just a few days a year.

“Gas peaking plants are an expensive way of firming the electricity sector and are only expected to be used 5 per cent of the time,” she said.

“We see a higher benefit from other firming technologies, for example demand management and energy efficiency.”

Dr Saddler is also sceptical about the need for gas and believes that projects such as the construction of the Kurri Kurri plant are unnecessary.

He believes there are already lots of gas-fired power stations that could meet peak demand and other investments including in hydro that can perform the same function.

The biggest problem with gas is it also produces emissions and so will eventually need to be phased out anyway.

Dr Saddler said the technologies were already available to allow Australia to move away from gas, particularly in the residential sector, but also in the manufacturing sector.

The AGL gas-fired power station at Torrens Island in Adelaide. Picture: Kelly Barnes/AAP

“I think Australia needs to decarbonise as fast as possible,” he said.

He also thinks hydrogen is not financially competitive with gas and it won’t reduce emissions unless it’s powered by 100 per cent renewables.

“It’s much better to go all electric,” he said.

He said the important thing to focus on was strengthening the electricity distribution network so that energy being produced by solar and wind can be transported around the country.

“It’s all laid out what needs to be done and when,” he said. “It’s completely understood what’s needed but what’s needed now is planning and to implement investments.”

He said a lot of companies were already investing in batteries, there was interest in pumped hydro, and transmission lines were being built, including a key one between South Australia and NSW.

“It’s not as if people talking about renewable energy are not 100 per cent aware of the challenge of variability and lots of people are working on it,” he said.

“And they certainly don’t need to do it by prolonging the life of coal-fired power stations.”

Government’s ‘CoalKeeper’ policy slammed

The Federal Government is also looking at recommendations from the Energy Security Board on what the electricity market should look like post-2025, with potential plans for what critics have described as “CoalKeeper”.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor released a plan in late August that will pay generators to be available to turn on, even if they don’t provide any electricity, potentially rewarding them for providing capacity even when it’s not needed.

Greens leader Adam Bandt described the plan as an “expensive, dirty scam” that would force households to pay up to $430 a year to big power companies so that coal could stay in the system for longer.

“With the world’s scientists demanding we get out of coal and gas, the Liberals’ CoalKeeper scheme forces up people’s power bills, locks in fossil fuels and makes climate change worse.

“The public should not be subsidising coal and gas,” Mr Bandt said.

“Scott Morrison’s latest coal subsidy will cost households two to three times more than the carbon price ever did, but unlike that world-leading scheme, pollution will go up and public money will line the pockets of big coal corporations.”

The Liddell coal fired power station is due to be closed next year. Picture: David Swift

Mr Taylor has defended the scheme saying most electricity markets in the world were now designed in the way the Energy Security Board was recommending.

“You’ve got to change the way the market works to ensure that there is reward for being available when the power is needed,” he told 4BC’s Neil Breen on August 26.

“Now, coal has a role to play in that, gas has a role to play in that, hydro has a role to play in that.

“It’s not about subsidies. This is about making sure we’ve got dispatchability alongside the renewables that are coming in so fast, and bringing down emissions at a very rapid pace in our electricity grid.”

Energy ministers met in September to agree on the final package of reforms that will be provided to National Cabinet for consideration in October.

Australia needs to be doing more

Dr Saddler said government needs to be doing more to reduce emissions and road transport in particular should be a priority for emissions reduction.

“We are reducing emissions from electricity steadily but in road transport, it’s growing,” he said.

“Consumption is continuing to grow year by year, we’ve got to turn that around, and the only way to turn that around is for the rapid uptake of electric vehicles.

“There’s no reason why that shouldn’t be happening now, there's a great variety of models.”

Instead during the last federal election, EV policy was used by the Coalition attack Labor, which wanted 50 per cent of the cars sold in Australia to be electric by 2030.

“It was just absurd,” Dr Saddler said.

Experts say that to have a chance of keeping temperatures around 1.5C, the world needs to get emissions down to net zero by 2050 and Dr Saddler said this meant changes had to be made now.

“It’s important we don’t get there by allowing high emissions until 2040 and then dropping suddenly,” Dr Saddler said

“That’s an important reason why the position currently of the Australian Government is wrong, they are seeing the end point target, and not the path to the target.”

Ms Malos said thee were positive signs of change in government and business, including investment in renewables and transmission infrastructure.

“There are signs we are moving in the right direction but at the moment it’s not far or fast enough.

“What we don’t see is real coordination to create the step change we really need,” she said.

Ms Malos said there was a need for the Federal Government to set a net zero target, as well as a more ambitious 2030 target.

The target also needs to be connected to government and business decisions including investment and procurement decisions so that everyone understands the opportunities available and the scale of change needed.

“Everyone is crying out for that target, business is crying out for it because it creates clarity and shows people who are investing that they need to invest in,” she said.

“Without setting that goal you can still create change but you don’t have that clarity and if you think about all that psychology tells us – it says set your goal and aim for that goal.”

Originally published as United Kingdom generating almost as much solar power as Australia