Kategori : ELECTRICITY ENERGY NEWS, ENERGY AGENDA NEWS, ENERGY EFFICIENCY NEWS, SOLAR ENERGY NEWS, COAL NEWS, WIND ENERGY & RES NEWS - Tarih : 13 November 2021
Australia finally has a net zero target. Even without being legislated, it matters as a signal. It will effectively be bipartisan, a rare and valuable thing in Australia’s climate policy. Of course the long-term goal could be used to deflect from the fact that not much is being done to put Australia on a low-carbon pathway right now, but it must be taken at face value if we are to stand a chance.
How can Australia become net zero? Technically the answer is quite clear, and has been for a long 
time. What has changed is that more and more zero emissions options are available at lower and lower cost. The task is now easier than we thought it would be just five years ago.
It starts with a complete shift to clean energy in electricity supply. In Australia, the cost-effective power system of the future is a mix of solar and wind power, with energy storage in batteries and pumped-hydro plants, and gas plants at the ready for occasional use when needed. It means huge investments that will give us zero emissions power at low operating costs. The task this decade is to mobilise those investments for the clean energy future.
Record amounts of solar and wind are being installed in Australia, now driven largely by commercial decisions. The process needs to be sped up. We need reform in the electricity market, including the planned and accelerated decommissioning of remaining coal plants, and the rapid building of new transmission lines.
Source: The Guardian
