https://reneweconomy.com.au/the-complex-truth-about-gas-and-renewables/
"Energy policy in Australia has long suffered at the hands of a simple lie
being easier to accept than a complex truth. The federal election was
remarkable in all sorts of ways, but one of those was that the Australian
public backed a complex truth and they overwhelmingly rejected a simple lie.
They rejected nuclear power and a massive campaign to hoodwink Australia into
backing a solution riddled with risk and uncertainty, likely to have enormous
costs and be decades away. Instead, they provided a strong mandate for
Australia to proceed with renewables, backed up by batteries, pumped hydro and
a small amount of gas.
They saw through unprecedented misinformation and a ferocious campaign against
renewable energy and for nuclear power. More than anything, Australians
demonstrated they wanted the truth and could handle that truth. No one said
that replacing Australia’s aging coal generation fleet over a decade or so
would be easy, or straight forward. But the election showed that it’s time for
more honesty with the Australian public.
At the start of this year, amidst waves of misinformation and anticipating
another contentious election campaign, the clean energy industry launched a new
campaign to ensure the Australian public got the facts. We wanted to make sure
the Australian public had access to the facts about clean energy and the
alternatives. It’s working.
As the dust settles on the election, we have a lot more to do to ensure the
public understand the complexity and nuance of Australia’s energy transition.
One of those areas is about the role of gas in the electricity system. So let’s
get it straight.
Firstly, the fact is that a small amount of gas-fired electricity generation is
playing an important role today, and according to the experts will be necessary
for the foreseeable future. That might be an inconvenient truth for some
people, but it is the reality for now. It’s a small role, compared to the
massive role renewable energy and energy storage is already playing and is
expected to in the future.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) states that “As coal-fired power
stations retire, renewable energy connected with transmission and distribution,
firmed with storage, and backed up by gas-powered generation is the lowest-cost
way to supply electricity to homes and businesses through Australia’s
transition to a net zero economy”.
Importantly, AEMO also projects that gas generation capacity (MW) will produce
much less energy (MWh – actual output) than it does today, with a reduced
capacity factor for any gas generation of around 7% on average."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
