Government’s clean power shift not happening fast enough, says grid operator

It said new wind and solar farms sufficient to generate 134 gigawatts of power are needed, more than double existing capacity.

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The grid will also need 86 gigawatts more of rooftop solar, which has a current capacity of 18 gigawatts, as well as 75 gigawatts more dispatchable energy from projects like pumped hydro, batteries and gas plants.

The Albanese government’s existing plan to double the share of renewables in the grid to 82 per cent by 2030 is running well behind schedule, putting Australia at a heightened risk of blackouts and volatile prices during the transition.

Since the 2022 election, the Albanese government has approved projects that would deliver 8.4 gigawatts of power, which Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says is double the rate of approvals by the former Morrison government – but only a fraction of the total requirement.

Wind farm approvals are also a problem, with just two approved in the past 17 months. Regional communities around the country have mounted anti-renewables campaigns and AEMO said the government must work harder to win the support of communities.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said: “AEMO tested 1000 scenarios to identify the lowest-cost plan that would also meet our growing electricity needs and keep the grid reliable between now and 2050.”

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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has criticised the government’s renewables-heavy plan as undeliverable and promised a future Coalition government would build seven nuclear plants across the country, with the first coming online before 2037, to supplement renewables.

The AEMO plan does not assess the costs of nuclear energy because it is currently banned under federal law.

But it said nuclear “is one of the most expensive ways to generate electricity” and warned building the plants “would be too slow to replace retiring coal-fired generation”.

The loss of bipartisan support for Australia’s climate targets has worried investors who have poured billions of dollars into green energy projects and has already forced some to reconsider long-term spending plans on renewables.

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