Cheaper renewables make Narrabri gas project obsolete
In the months since this decision, however, the world has moved on.
In May this year, the International Energy Agency signalled that there could be no new gas, coal or oil projects if we are to have any chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change.
In August, the IPCC confirmed that “global warming of 1.5C and 2C will be exceeded during the 21st century unless deep reductions in carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades”.
Last week, the EU and US signed a new agreement to cut global methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.
And just on Tuesday, the NSW government announced it would ramp up its 2030 emissions reduction target to 50 per cent below 2005 levels, focusing on fossil fuel-free solutions like renewable energy and electric vehicles.
But despite these developments, Narrabri still has government support. This position is growing more untenable by the day, especially as evidence grows that the project is not only harmful, but also unnecessary.
New research from energy analysts Northmore Gordon, commissioned by the Climate Council, shows that with appropriate policy support to replace gas with more efficient and affordable technologies, NSW could cut annual gas demand over the next decade by the same amount that the Narrabri Gas Project would produce.
Northmore Gordon’s new Gas Decarbonisation Roadmap lays out a plan for how the state could cut gas use by 70 per cent as early as 2030.
For instance, gas use in homes could be eliminated by replacing gas heating and hot water with electric systems, and replacing gas cooktops with safe and easy to use induction cooktops. This will also make homes safer by reducing the health risks to our children from harmful pollutants.
Upgrading commercial buildings such as offices, retail and council buildings by replacing gas boilers with electric heat pumps could also eradicate much of this sector’s gas use.
Homes and commercial buildings are currently responsible for almost half NSW’s gas use, so eliminating this could almost halve the state’s gas needs.
The industrial sector has long been viewed as the most difficult sector in which to reduce fossil fuel use, but this new research has identified some key opportunities that could quickly reduce emissions here as well.
Even industries such as iron and steel manufacturing could see a significant reduction in gas use over the next decade with the right policy support for technologies like electric resistance heating and renewable hydrogen. The state government would play a critical role in funding these expensive but essential upgrades to electric technology, saving money and reducing health risks in the process.
As our economy recovers from the impacts of Covid-19, financial support to small businesses and households to reduce gas use will create jobs and cut power bills, improving business profitability and leaving consumers more money to spend in their communities.
Investing in these upgrades will also improve NSW’s energy self-sufficiency and eliminate the need for new gas supply projects.
What does all this mean for the Narrabri project? Quite simply, it is obsolete.
Gas used to be considered a vital fuel to power industry and households. Just a few years ago NSW was looking at opening up much of the state to gas exploration. But community opposition, skyrocketing gas prices, and greater awareness of the health, environmental and climate impacts saw all of these projects fall over.
Except one: Santos’s Narrabri gas project.
The Narrabri project is a hangover of a bygone era when the only answer to increased energy demand was new gas supply. But with so many better options today, it should be consigned to history.
Only those with the inability to imagine and grasp a decarbonised and renewables future would be unable to see that the electricity sector is rapidly changing as clean wind and solar drive down emissions and power prices. With plans for massive new renewable energy zones in places such as Dubbo and New England, NSW will soon be awash with cheap, reliable clean energy.
This renewable electricity is the smart new way to power businesses and households, instead of outdated gas.
With NSW already feeling the impacts of drought, bushfires, floods and other extreme weather events driven by the burning of gas, coal and oil, it is imperative that we urgently reduce our fossil fuel use.
We have long known that Santos’s Narrabri project will worsen climate change and do little to reduce power prices. Now we know that we don’t even need the gas that it will produce.
Time has passed it by, and the future of NSW’s energy system is clean, affordable electricity from renewables.
Greg Bourne is former president of BP Australasia, a former adviser to Margaret Thatcher and Climate Council spokesman
Thursday marks a year since the NSW Independent Planning Commission approved Santos’s Narrabri gas project, despite significant opposition from the community and experts.