Australia diving into renewables

Banner: states powering into renewables

Renewable energy usage and plans

Australia is moving into renewable energy.

Area% Renewables 2016% Renewables 2023Renewables Plans
Australia17%36%82% by 2030
Tasmania93%99%150% by 2030
S Australia 48%72%100% by 2027
Victoria16%37%50% by 2030
W Australia13%35%
NSW12%31%Halve emissions by 2030
Queensland5%23%70% 2032
ACT100%No gas use by 2045

The figures are primarily based on the Clean Energy Council: Reports for these years.

Australia

Australia is increasing renewable generation, the cheapest electricity. As our renewable generation increases, our electricity-based industries will become more cost-competitive and their products more marketable in a carbon-constrained world.

South Australia

  • Moved from 48% renewable energy in 2016
  • to 72% in 2023, and
  • Expects to reach 100% by 2027
  • .
  • Generates 72% of its electricity from cheap wind and solar,
  • Led the world with grid-scale batteries
  • Now has three big batteries and more coming

Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

  • The ACT already runs on 100% renewables.
  • They reached 100% by contracting to get all their electricity from wind and solar generators.
  • When wholesale electricity prices surged in the first three months of 2019, these contracts saved the ACT $4 million.
  • They are on track to reach their goal of zero net emissions by 2045.

(ACT beats its 2020 emissions target with a 45% cut since 1990: Renew Economy: 4 Dec 2020)

Batteries

South Australia led the world in using big batteries to support electricity grids. The number of grid-scale batteries worldwide and in Australia is increasing rapidly.

See this interactive map showing Australian batteries (Renew Economy).

Nuclear generation: A bad idea.

The Coalition policy is for Australia to build nuclear generators.

  • We only have a few details about this policy. It’s a suggestion, not a plan.
  • This suggestion is too late. Look at the above plans for renewables. When the first nuclear generation starts in about 2040, Australia will have about 90% renewable electricity. There will be no need for nuclear generation. This is particularly true in South Australia, which will generate all the electricity it needs with renewables by 2027.
  • Nuclear generation is inflexible, so expensive nuclear electricity would have to displace cheap renewable electricity. For example, electricity dispatchers would regularly have to stop households exporting electricity from their rooftop solar panels to allow the nuclear generators to keep running.
  • Electricity suppliers bid every five minutes to supply electricity to the grid. Nuclear electricity is expensive, so it would not be able to compete with renewable energy in this bidding, and nuclear generators would not be able to sell their electricity.
  • Nuclear generation will increase electricity prices.
  • The Coalition has no workable plan for the period between now and the start of its nuclear generation. Our aging coal generators are retiring, and we must build replacement generation now.

Updated 13 Aug 2024