Opinion & Analysis

The Australian Energy Market Operator this week released an update to its annual assessment of reliability, the so-called Electricity Statement of Opportunities. This has been reported as the market operator forecasting “power shortages”, or the network being “at risk of supply shortages”.

Dan Lee learns about energy poverty, and some of the unique challenges of the transition during a trip to Timor-Leste as part of a delegation of eight students from the University of Queensland’s Master of Sustainable Energy program.

For most of us, transmitting power is an invisible part of modern life. You flick the switch and the light goes on. But the way we transport electricity is vital. For us to quit fossil fuels, we will need a better grid, connecting renewable energy in the regions with cities.

Australia’s renewable energy transition has prompted the construction of dozens of large-scale solar farms. The boom helps reduce Australia’s reliance on fossil fuels, but requires large areas of land to be converted to host solar infrastructure.

If Australia is to decarbonise our energy system by 2050, we need to start the transition to electric vehicles very soon. Cars sold in the 2030s will mostly still be on the road in 2050, so we have to make sure most of them are electric. But electric cars (including plug-in hybrids) currently account for only 3.5% of new car sales in Australia.

Sun Cable – considered to be the world’s biggest renewable energy export project – announced on Wednesday it had entered voluntary administration following “the absence of alignment” with shareholders.

Almost one in three Australian households have solar panels on their roofs. Most are motivated by rising electricity prices and environmental concerns. Households are paid a so-called feed-in tariff for surplus energy they export to the grid.

Australia is well-positioned to be a global leader in green hydrogen production. Green hydrogen is produced using a renewable power source such as solar or wind. As a substitute for fossil fuels, it will help to meet growing renewable energy needs.

The catchphrase ‘there’s no transition without transmission’ seems to get thrown around more and more. Much of the discussion that follows centres around increasing capacity to allow for more wind and solar farms. But perhaps less discussed, is the emerging challenges that face the existing transmission network in ensuring system security

Des Hang on the three main doubts that still linger around Australia’s burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) industry.