Victoria has powered its electricity grid with 50 per cent renewable energy for the first time, well ahead of state government projections for the transition to clean energy.
The state Labor government says the historic breakthrough, enabled by the cool spring and summer, shows Victoria is well on its way to replacing the carbon-intensive brown coal generators that still provide the vast bulk of the state’s electricity along with wind, solar and hydroelectric power.
New data shows that on three dates between November and January, renewables soared to more than 40 per cent of the state’s daily supply and went above 50 per cent in about 12 instances during two periods in mid-January and mid-November, all on days with temperatures of 30 degrees or below.
But the surge of wind and solar energy into the state’s grid is piling financial pressure on the remaining coal-fired power stations in the Latrobe Valley, which are still essential to keeping electricity supplies stable and bills down.
The announcement this month that the giant Yallourn coal burning plant – which supplies about 22 per cent of the state’s power – would close in 2028 has thrown the spotlight back onto Victoria and Australia’s energy transition away from fossil fuels.
The federal government warns that the 1450 megawatts of electricity produced by the Yallourn plant cannot be replaced without some form of new fossil fuel generation and is championing gas as a “transition fuel”.
The share of renewable energy powering Victorian homes and business has grown from 9 per cent in 2010 to more than 26 per cent in 2020, just exceeding the legislated 25 per cent target.
Victorian Energy and Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio told The Sunday Age the new figures showed the state was on track to fill the gap left by Yallourn, and the subsequent closures of the Loy Yang A and B plants, with renewables, with batteries to provide stability and rebuilt to deliver the power.
“Between now and 2028 , we will be delivering an additional 5000 megawatts of new power supply plus batteries, so we then have more than enough supply to meet our needs,” the minister said.
“The grid connections are a really critical issue and that’s a critical issue right across the National Electricity Market, not just for Victoria.
“We’re investing more money into grid upgrades than Queensland and NSW combined; there was $540 million over four years in our budget in November.”
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But Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor, who said he shared the priority of retiring the big coal generators ahead of time, does not believe the job of replacing Yallourn’s capacity could be done just by wind, solar, batteries and hydro.
”Solar and wind can provide us energy, but it can’t be guaranteed... so you need that back-up...whether it’s through projects like Snowy [Hydro 2]... gas, or whether it’s batteries, all of those technologies will play a role in providing that backup.
“If we don’t have that, we will see blackouts, and we will see higher prices.”
Jeff Dimery, chief executive of Alinta Energy which owns the Loy Yang B plant, said market reform was badly needed as coal-fired stations struggled to compete on price against renewable providers who were selling electricity produced at zero cost or even being paid, via government subsidies, to generate power.
“If something doesn’t change in the medium term, our operation would become very marginal,” Mr Dimery told The Sunday Age.
“We’re the newest and lowest cost marginal generator and if we end up in a situation where we’re marginal and it pretty much tells you that everybody else is unviable, and that may be the outcome that we’re destined for.
“My concern, as an energy industry expert, is the market can’t sustain the closure of all the coal fired power stations in such a rapid time frame and expect the lights to stay on.
“So something’s got to give.”
Links
- (AU) Victoria Pledges $797m For Australia's Biggest Household Energy Efficiency Drive
- Victoria's renewable energy targets
- List of power stations in Victoria
- Yallourn closure a ‘sign of the times’ for coal power’s struggles
- Government confident power bills won’t soar after Yallourn shuts
- (AU) Under Pressure: Coal-Fired Power Plants Feel The Heat From Renewables
- (AU) Power Play: MCG Goes Solar In Climate-Change Fight
- (AU) Clean and green: powering through 'watershed week' for energy policy
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