The Australian Energy Council (AEC) has released its Energy 2050 report, intended to address what it takes to deliver a net zero system, and balance affordability, reliability and sustainability.
One key insight addresses the future mix of wind and solar as currently not being clear given the possibility another technology may take market share.
This could impact the viability of renewable energy zones, which have an added uncertainty of unknown locations or the number to be developed.
The report says, rooftop solar and local batteries connected to distribution networks in front of and behind the meter can help consumers generate and store their own energy, but the scale of distributed resources remains uncertain, as does the willingness for consumers to allow their resources to be aggregated or orchestrated.
Priority actions are boiled down to seven critical enablers to support the energy transition, and include prioritising an orderly coal exit pathway to create space for firmed renewables and improve investment signals for flexible supply, from sources such as long-duration storage.
The report calls for a reform of the Integrated System Plan (ISP) to better reflect the likely pace and costs associated with the transition, given transmission delivered on time enables wholesale prices to be kept down.
Of consumer energy resources, the Energy2050 report recommends prioritising rewards for consumers who support energy systems through the use of consumer energy resources (CER) and align network incentives and market signals to ensure CER can be coordinated to scale.
For large-scale energy users the report says enabling their growth through integrated resource planning and focussed assistance to help them transition would ensure large users can access competitively priced energy without imposing costs on other users.
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