Coal plants to end early
Renewables surge puts use- by date on fossil fuel
AUSTRALIA’S coal- fired energy plants won’t survive to the technical end of their lifespans as cheap renewable generators flood the market with new electricity, according to Energy Security Board chair Kerry Schott.
Rapid adoption of renewable energy generators and household solar panels feeding into the grid have helped push down energy prices and made power more affordable for households and businesses, according to Dr Schott.
Rapidly rising supplies of renewable energy also helped cut carbon emissions from the power system by 25 per cent since 2005 levels.
The Energy Security Board will release its annual Health of the NEM ( national electricity market) report on Tuesday, finding that real progress has been made with improved generation capacity ( reliability), emission reduction, competition and network investment.
But it also finds that system stability ( security) and investor confidence remain critical areas for improvement.
The report shows the Australian Energy Market Operator was forced to intervene in the market at record rates in 2019 to 2020, highlighting the ongoing fragility of the national energy market.
The ESB report says the security of power supply to the east coast market remains its “most concerning issue”.
Despite falling wholesale prices over the last year, the ESB still rated the issue of the NEM’s ability to deliver affordable energy to consumers as “moderate to critical”, but Dr Schott said that rating was based on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on consumers’ ability to pay, and was not necessarily a reflection of current or forward pricing.
But the fast uptake of renewable energy still poses a threat to the stability of the grid, as cheap renewables — particularly those from household solar panels — threaten to help push coal- fired power plants to early closure. The technical life of coal- fired power plants would have the last of today’s generators still operating in 2050, according to the ESB, but declining competitiveness against renewables mean they are not being called on to deliver additional power at times of peak use, undercutting their viability.