A new report by The University of Queensland’s Global Change Institute has drawn together some top economists to consider possible scenarios for delivering a competitive Australian power system in 2035.
Accordingly, it examines where the Australian power economy needs to be positioned to address the issues that global change presents, including rising prices, carbon constraints and public support for renewable energy.
The report highlights the immediate need for major investment in multiple technologies and significant policy intervention to reach emissions targets and public expectations.
The report reveals that Australian industry and government face two basic choices:
1. Start now on a course of action that will lead to abatement, reduced pressure on electricity prices and offer increased technology choices by 2025; or alternatively
2. Wait until technology options like carbon capture and storage (CCS) and nuclear power become viable, and implement the technologies in relative haste to meet climate change requirements.
Previously Australia’s abundant supply of coal has underpinned its power system.
Countries competing for investment in electricity-intensive metals processing industries have used a diversity of energy resources to underpin their power systems which has equipped them with resilient power and made them more attractive to investors.
The Australian government’s forecast for the power system of 2035 is founded on coal seam gas as a transition fuel to a lower emissions future. Carbon price legislation introduced last year provides an economic mechanism to facilitate this transformation and shift the Australian economy towards its cleaner future.
Findings based on modelling the electricity market’s response to the introduction of different sources of generation by 2035, indicate that using gas as a transition fuel does not necessarily deliver the most affordable electricity. The other options are discussed in the report.
The report, entitled, ‘A competitive power sector for Australia’ is to be featured at an event at the University of Queensland on 20 March 2013 (see the event calendar on this website).
RSVP by 19 March to register your attendance.
About the Speaker
Lynette Molyneaux is a member of the Energy Economics and Management Group in the University of Queensland’s School of Economics. She is currently engaged on the University of Queensland’s energy research series of papers entitled Delivering a Competitive Australian Power System. Lynette’s research interests include: the measurement of resilience in systems; and systems for carbon abatement with particular emphasis on incentives for investment abatement technologies. Prior to her involvement with the University of Queensland, Lynette has a career spanning 20 years in the Information Technology industry working for large corporations like IBM and British Telecom as well as small Internet and IT consultancies.
Download the report on a competitive Australian power sector and view the 3.5 minute summary video about the report at the University of Queensland’s Global Change Institute website.