ENHANCING AUSTRALIA’S ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

Renewable energy development - Australia’s experience

Presented by Emily Kennedy

ENHANCING AUSTRALIA’S ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

Australia’s electricity systems

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Australia’s electricity generation

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Australia’s Renewable Energy Resources

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Australia’s Renewable Energy Resources

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Renewable energy generation in Australia

ENHANCING AUSTRALIA’S ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

Mechanisms to support renewable energy

• 20% by 2020 Renewable Energy Target– Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) – 41,000

GWh

– Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES)

• $3b Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)

• A $3b Direct Action Plan to meet Australia’s emission reduction targets using an Emissions Reduction Fund

• New One Million Solar Roofs program

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Installed capacity – wind

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Installed capacity – solar

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Recent renewables developments in Australia

• 1 million houses now have solar PV systems – 11% of dwellings, 2.5 million Australians

• 420MW Macarthur wind farm opened in Victoria – biggest in Southern hemisphere

• Geodynamics turned on a 1MW demo EGS geothermal system

• $4.2 billion invested in renewables and energy smart technology

• Clean Energy Australia 2012 – www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au

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Integration of renewables

• Australia has so far had success at integrating increased renewable energy generation from wind and solar

• South Australia now sources a quarter of its power from wind energy

• Rooftop solar PV has been integrated with few difficulties, but high solar PV penetration in isolated areas can be difficult.

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Five best practices for renewables integration

• Lead public engagement, particularly for new transmission

• Coordinate and integrate planning

• Develop rules for market evolution that enable system flexibility

• Expand access to diverse resources and geographic footprint of operations

• Improve system operations

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Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)

• ARENA administers $3 billion in government funding for renewable energy technology innovation

• ARENA manages existing Australian Government projects supporting renewable energy technology innovation

• ARENA’s aims are to:

– Improve the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies

– Increase the supply of renewable energy in Australia

• Website: www.arena.gov.au

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ARENA projects and initiatives

• Technologies supported by ARENA

include solar, geothermal, wave energy,

biofuels

• Regional Australia’s Renewables initiative

• Emerging Renewables Program

• Accelerated Step Change Initiative

• Renewable Energy Venture Capital Fund

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ARENA – supporting large solar power

• ARENA is pursuing large solar power

opportunities in Australia, such as:

– Kogan Creek Solar Boost

– Broken Hill and Nyngan PV

• ARENA also supports next generation

solar research and development

– Australian solar researchers are

world leaders

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Summary of lessons learned

• Policies are needed to support both renewables deployment and technology development

• The Renewable Energy Target scheme has been an effective deployment mechanism, at moderate cost to consumers

• Developing energy technologies takes time – a long time

• Existing energy market arrangements matter:

– Opportunities for the private sector to invest

– System capable of integrating variable renewables

• Renewables projects face just as much community opposition as other new developments

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Thank you for listening