The Clean Energy Council (CEC) has released a comprehensive blueprint on how to modernise Australia's energy system and cut emissions from the energy sector to zero by 2050.
Dubbed Power Shift, the blueprint provides a range of strategic policy and regulatory measures to drive the transition to an energy system powered by renewable energy, battery storage and smart technology.
CEC chief executive, Kane Thornton, said Power Shift outlines a plan to cut pollution through the orderly closure of clapped-out old power stations and drive new private sector investment in cleaner, smarter energy technology.
“While they have served us well over many decades, some of our current power plants would be more at home in the Eastern Bloc than in an innovative country such as Australia,” he said.
“As these plants phase out, Australia can take advantage of our world-class sun, wind, waves and bio-energy that will deliver the lowest-cost form of new electricity generation.”
Meanwhile, Lux Research has released a new report identifying solar opportunities that will be facilitated by battery storage.
Distributed storage for solar systems will be worth $8 billion in 2026 as solar combines with storage in order to continue its remarkable growth.
Lux Research senior analyst and lead author of the report, Cosmin Laslau, said solar-plus-storage is a key necessity for solar to overcome limitations like intermittency and the lack of power after dark.
Laslau said energy storage will increase the distributed solar market by 25 GW annually in 2026 (see graph pictured).
“Adding storage adds costs, affecting revenue streams and addressable market size, but as installed solar system costs decline – from $3.83/W in 2015 to $1.87/W in 2035 – an attractive economic case will emerge in 2023, leading to strong growth,” he said.
“As the solar-plus-storage market matures, interesting developments will unfold on a number of fronts. There will be more vertical integration between the two industries, increased financing options and even a move towards energy-sharing between communities.”