The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (AATSE) says Australia will generate half of its required electricity from renewable sources in the next three years.
The Academy produced a report which outlines how quickly the industry has pivoted towards renewables. 50 percent of electricity will be created by renewables in 2025, which will rise to 69 percent in 2030. The AATSE says more investment into back-up services that will account for Australian homes during the transition period to clean power.
While wind and solar are the preferred sources of electricity, the Academy acknowledges gas may be required in times of shortage.
"Australia is in the throes of an energy crisis, with electricity generation prices around 115 per cent above the previous highest average wholesale price ever recorded. Meanwhile all states are achieving record highs for renewables powering our electricity system," the report reads.
"It is critical to determine how these technologies will work harmoniously to decarbonise energy systems, provide new economic opportunities, and meet the needs of Australian industries, communities, and people."
State and federal governments are pushing for a capacity market policy which will assist in the transition to renewable sources.
UNSW Professor Renate Egan tells the ABC that despite renewables accounting for a third of the country’s electricity, that percentage must double by 2032.
"Last year, we put on 3 gigawatts of rooftop solar, that's about $3 billion of investment by end consumers in energy generation for Australia, and we put in a total amount of centralised wind and solar of around 3 gigawatts — so another $3 billion," she says.
"So $6 billion of assets were invested last year in renewable energy generation and half of that was by end consumers who own those assets and want to be able to use it. There's a significant change in the way the investments are being made, where it's going and how it's being delivered."
While the technologies to transform Australia into a completely renewable energy source are on offer, the transition may be tricky. Former Ausgrid Managing Director George Maltabarow says government regulation is imperative and that investments should be made into rooftop solar farms and communal batteries.
"Conventional wisdom about how much capacity intermittent renewables can be sustained in a grid, has evolved greatly over the last decade and particularly over the last five years," he says.
"But we shouldn't underestimate the challenges of actually getting there. What we need to manage this transition are the frameworks that will support the right sort of investment."
To read the ATSE report, click here.
Image: Supplied
