Australia, the Land Down Under, is a very interesting and exciting place for renewable energy. The high levels of irradiance it receives makes it a great place for solar power to flourish. Australia has also seen its fair share of natural disasters caused at least in part by a warming planet. A transition to clean energy can help fight against climate change and it makes sense financially. As Australia continues on its journey to a clean energy economy, the rest of the world can observe what works and what causes challenges.
It was recently announced that two of Australia’s coal fired power plants will be shutting down. Liddell Power station in New South Wales is set to close in 2023, and Yallourn in Victoria is set to close in 2028. As solar, wind, and other renewable energy costs continue to fall, it does not make sense to keep most coal fired power plants running.
Following this trend, ANZ, Australia’s 3rd largest bank, has announced that they will be divesting from the port of Newcastle, the world’s largest thermal coal export terminal. This is an “entirely pragmatic decision” made by ANZ since “the port will become a stranded asset as the world rapidly moves away from thermal coal.”(IEEFA) This is a strong signal from ANZ and shows that banks are ready to fully back renewable energy.
The money is flowing away from coal and towards renewable energy, but there is significant progress that has to be made before Australia can run fully on renewable energy. One key obstacle facing the renewable energy transition is how to ensure grid stability and reliability. Unlike coal and fossil fuel generating stations, solar and wind are intermittent sources of energy, meaning they only generate electricity when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. It is imperative that grid stability is maintained and guaranteed, so daily life can run smoothly.
Figuring out how to have a reliable and stable grid run on renewable energy is a challenge facing Australia and the rest of the world.
This figure shows what the grid looks like now, and how some analysts are predicting it will look in the future.
“The future grid will be as much a digital communication system as it is an energy management system, with electronics and software providing grid security and stability.” IEEFA
One way to ensure reliability for a grid run on renewable energy is to install batteries and storage alongside solar and wind installations. UPC/AC Renewables, a joint venture between UPC Renewables Group and AC Energy, is doing just that. They recently announced that construction has begun on the New England Solar farm located in New South Wales. This is going to be quite an undertaking and when it is all said and done, the project will be a 720MW hybrid solar and battery facility.
“Once fully complete, the solar farm and battery project will be Australia’s largest hybrid solar and battery energy storage facility. It will play an important role in the energy transition already underway across the country,” UPC/AC Renewables chief executive Anton Rohner said.” (IEEFA) Solar plus storage projects increase energy resilience significantly. When sunlight is ample, and there is excess energy generated, it can be stored and used later that night or when the sun is not shining.
This project will be a great gauge for the renewable energy market and could act as a blueprint for future industrial sized solar plus storage projects. What will the grid of the future look like? How will we get there? Of course, different countries face different challenges, but we can look to our neighbors down under for inspiration.
Breiter Planet Properties understands the importance of renewable energy and viable storage options for the future of our electric grid. We work with homeowners, landowners, and business owners to install solar plus storage projects and bolster energy resilience across the world.
