Cleaner and Reliable Power

We all know Australia needs to replace our coal-fired energy production with cleaner, greener, firmed alternatives. Personally, I'd like to see this happen sooner rather than later. We have to remember that is the low-hanging fruit in our transition to a decarbonised economy. Unfortunately, our current approach to energy planning is driving a painfully slow pace and with only limited decarbonisation gains. The use of more transmission lines to provide more hosting capacity will only have a minor impact, will not take the burden off the curtailment we are seeing currently, will cost tens of billions of dollars and take over 10 years to achieve. This is well past our 2030 targets.

As the AER, Australian Energy Regulator, chair, Clare Savage, pointed out, it is vital that, before we build more network, we use more network—that is, we use it more efficiently. The technology to deliver clean, affordable and reliable power is within our grasp and often within our homes. Before burdening Australians with the cost of new infrastructure like poles and wires, let's focus on doing more with what we have: smarter, localised solutions that can unlock the full potential of our existing assets and deliver cleaner energy faster without financial strain. These are a mixture of behind-the-meter systems such as your solar panels, your residential battery, your electric vehicle—if it has two-way vehicle-to-grid technology. These are all within our grasp.