Experts call for Australia targets hike amid ‘renewables boom’
The long-term Renewable Energy Target (RET) policy for Australia needs to be ramped up to unlock US$40 billion (A$52.5 billion) in investments, according to Wood Mackenzie
by Andrew McCorkell
Sign in to continue
Breaking industry news and email bulletins
Analysis of the lastest trends to help you make informed decisions
Searchable content archive dating back to 1994
The world’s top market for rooftop solar is looking for new ways to add distributed PV to its electricity system by fine-tuning its interplay with the power grid.
This year, utilities in the Australian states South Australia and Victoria will roll out a flexible exports pilot. The AUD $4.8 million (USD $3.7 million) project, which will cover 600 customers across the two states, will allow rooftop solar customers to vary their exports to the network in alignment with available grid capacity, instead of being restrained by fixed export limits.
“The hosting capacity of the grid is dynamic,” Daniel Chung, home and business application engineer at SMA Australia, the inverter company and one of the project partners, explained in an email. “It depends on the instantaneous, local electricity generation and demand.”
21 December 2020
Significant declines in electricity prices in Australia are forecast to largely offset any impacts of the closure of the Liddell power station, according to the 2020 release of the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) “electricity price trends” report.
“Households can expect to be paying about $120 (or 9%) less for electricity in 2023”, say the AEMC, highlighting the key reason for this as “the introduction of new sources of energy generation like solar and wind”, among other factors like gas prices that are reduced from record historical highs.
Renewable energy is highlighted in two key areas. First, for its impact on wholesale electricity prices, where renewables ‘bid’ into the market at lower values and thus reduce the final half-hour prices in Australia’s National Electricity Market.