Tuesday 17 July 2018

Coal could make up as little as 6% of Australian energy by 2040

Coal generation could make up as little as 6% of Australia's electricity mix by 2040.

That's according to a new report from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), which suggests a combination of solar, wind, storage, gas and transmission investment would need to produce 90TWh of energy to fill the gap left by coal.

It says to achieve this, the capacity to transfer power around the country must be improved and system strength in South Australia must be boosted - it estimates around AUD$650 million (£365m) of investment would be required to do so.

The organisation says by the mid-2020s, the transfer capacity between the states of New South Wales and South Australia must be boosted by 750MW, with links between Victoria and South Australia growing by 100MW and those between Queensland and New South Wales by 378MW.

The report adds there will still be a role for coal to some degree whatever happens, as 20 existing plants are expected to last an average 27 years longer.

The report said: "AEMO's modelling confirms that the national energy market is at a critical point and infrastructure planning decisions made over the next two years will shape the future of the east coast energy systems for decades to come."