All Energy audience hears ‘superpower’ ambitions are achievable

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A capacity crowd at the All Energy Australia 2024 exhibition and conference being staged in Melbourne heard that Australia is charging towards 50% renewable energy with that momentum attributed in part to targeted government action that is helping projects can get off the ground

Joel Alexander, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of developer Pacific Green Australia, told the audience that Australia has established the policy settings, regulatory rigour and support to establish a business environment that’s enabling a strong clean energy future.

“Overall, Australia is starting to deliver,” he said on the opening day of the event being staged at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

“Around 40% of national electricity generation now comes from renewables. We are ranked fourth globally for grid-scale battery storage with capacity growing exponentially year-on-year, and the country is consistently ranked within the top five most attractive destinations for investment in renewable energy.”

“There is still a long way to go, but at Pacific Green at least, we see the next five years as being an incredibly exciting time for the energy sector in Australia.”

Alexander said the opportunity ahead is to continue to build on the momentum and highlighted that the investable and scalable renewable energy technologies needed to deliver Australia’s energy transition are already available.

“There is a pathway for technologies that are here now. We have the technologies ready and investable now,” he said. “We have lots of policy and support for solar PV, and we have the space for large-scale deployment, along with great irradiance.”

Clean Energy Council CEO Kane Thornton said solar PV is set to play a pivotal role in the energy transition that he labelled a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity.

“If we get this right, we can cement our [Australia’s] role as a clean energy superpower,” he said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime transition, with an enormous amount at stake for us as a nation, and for the planet. We can achieve a smart, low-cost energy system that can power our lives and our economy. We can create thousands of jobs and revitalise rural and regional areas. We can cement our role as a global energy superpower.”

The All Energy event will continue at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre today.

The two-day event features more than 400 exhibitors showcasing the latest products and services and more than 450 speakers. the event is expected to attract more than 11,500 visitors.

The day-two program covers key topics including consumer energy resources, long-duration energy storage and the workforce pipeline.

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