‘Energy shortage if renewable projects lag’

ENERGY Minister Chris Bowen has sought to allay fears the East Coast could exceed its energy capacity by the end of the decade.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on Tuesday released an updated Electricity Statement of Opportunities report that warned of electricity supply shortages if renewable projects lagged behind the closure of fossil fuel plants.

It comes as Snowy Hydro concedes its two major projects are a year behind schedule.

The late delivery of the Kurri Kurri facility will increase the risk of unreliability in the NSW grid in 2024, AEMO predicts.

AEMO chief executive Daniel Westerman said the update reiterated the critical need for timely investment to fill reliability gaps. There was an “urgent” need to accelerate the rollout of back-up capacity such as batteries, long-life storage and more generation to minimise the risk of blackouts later this decade, he said.

However, Mr Bowen is optimistic the government is working fast to ensure there is clean, reliable energy available to fill the gaps left by retiring coal fire stations.

“AEMO is correctly pointing out that there is still much, much more work to do,” Mr Bowen said. “I mean, in nine months, have we fixed every single reliability gap for the next decade? No, there’s more work to do. Am I pleased with what we’ve done? Yes. Am I yet satisfied? No.”

Nationals senator Matt Canavan said the warnings were “eye-watering” and called for reliable power.

“Summed up … power prices ain’t going down any time soon,” he said.