Sustt: Australia's $20bn 'solar precinct'
?? In-depth insight
Solar power
Australia green-lights plan to build ‘world’s largest solar precinct’
?? Written by Nicola Watts :"Australia holds huge potential for renewables and if this ambitious project goes ahead then it will certainly provide a boost to the country’s climate goals. However, the country still needs to significantly ramp up its clean energy developments if its targets are to be met. Australia also needs to consider reducing its exports of coal and gas if it wants to gain the reputation of being a world leader in green energy. It should also seek to encourage other countries to curtail their reliance on fossil fuels in favour of renewables, pointing to its own achievements as good examples of how this can be done."
What's happening? The Australian government has granted environmental approvals for the AUD 30bn ($20.2bn) Australia-Asia PowerLink (AA Powerlink) project, set to become the “world’s largest solar precinct”. SunCable plans to construct a 12,400-hectare solar farm in Australia’s Northern Territory (NT), which will transmit electricity to Darwin through an 800 km overhead power line, and then on to Singapore via a 4,300 km submarine cable to power large-scale industrial customers. The project aims to generate up to 6 GW of electricity annually. The Australian company will now work on advancing the project towards a Financial Investment Decision by 2027. Electricity supply is set to begin in the early 2030s. (ABC News )?
Why does this matter? Australia needs to spend $2.4tn to meet its 2050 net zero target, according to a new report by BloombergNEF (BNEF). The analysis claims the country must expand its renewable energy capacity by 135% to around 126 GW by 2030. By mid-century, its wind and solar installations need to hit a combined 290 GW, and storage must rise from the current 3 GW to more than 59 GW. The Australian government aims for renewables to make up 82% of the country’s energy mix by 2030.??
Renewable progress – Australia’s Clean Energy Council (CEC) said in an annual report published in March that renewables made up 39.4% of the country's electricity supply in 2023, a 9.7% increase from 2022. Additional energy capacity reached 5.9 GW, up from 5 GW year-on-year. Over half of this new capacity came from small-scale rooftop solar, with the remainder coming from new large-scale capacity getting connected to the grid
Stronger finance commitments needed – CEC also found that investment in large-scale generation projects fell to $1.5bn, compared to $6.5bn in 2022. In Q1 2024, the association recorded an uptick, with five projects with a combined capacity of 895 MW receiving financial commitments. Despite this and echoing BNEF's findings, the CEC said investments will need to significantly improve with financial commitments of at least 6-7 GW in new large-scale projects this year and subsequent years to reach the government’s 2030 target...
Want to chat directly with a specialist? Whether you would like more information on an article, or to explore our product offering, we would love to hear from you. Click here.
_______________________
领英推荐
?? Stat of the week – China outpaces clean energy targets
China's clean energy capacity has surpassed 1,206 GW, achieving President Xi Jinping's 2030 target set in December 2020 nearly six years early. The nation added 25 GW of turbines and panels in July alone, according to the National Energy Administration. Driven by China's significant investment in clean energy, the rapid wind and solar expansion has contributed to a decline in coal power generation and suggests the country, which is the world’s leading polluter, may have already reached peak emissions. China may also achieve a doubling of its 2025 "new-energy storage" installation targets as it continues to invest heavily in its grid.
However, Chinese officials were quick to downplay this prospect, saying "great efforts are still needed to achieve the goals of peak carbon and carbon neutrality” as energy demand continues to soar. When inspecting the country's electricity mix, it's clear why there is some trepidation: wind and solar accounted for only around 14% of the country's electricity generation this year, despite the vast installation figures. (Bloomberg )
Like what you're reading? Find out more about Curation's services – joining the dots to help you make sense of sustainability. Get in touch.
_______________________
?? Bite-sized insights?
??? ?Canadian wildfires expose concerning carbon budget reality – Canada's historic wildfires in 2023 emitted around 647 megatonnes of carbon, surpassing the annual fossil fuel emissions of most countries, according to research published in Nature. The fires released more carbon than Canada’s annual fossil fuel output, with emissions exceeding those of all nations except China, the US, and India, suggesting that forests, traditionally carbon sinks, are increasingly contributing to emissions. Researchers warn that as climate conditions worsen, wildfires will become more common, threatening the reliability of forests as carbon absorbers and raising serious questions about global carbon management and whether global carbon budgets are based on inaccurate calculations. (NBC News )
?? Drax hit with fine but still deemed sustainable – Drax Group, operator of the UK’s largest power station, has been fined ￡25m ($32.9m) after an Ofgem investigation revealed that it failed to accurately report data on the type of biomass material burned at its North Yorkshire site. Although the investigation found no evidence that Drax's biomass was unsustainable – paving the way for a continuation of the ￡548m of government subsidies it received last year – the energy regulator criticised the company for lacking proper data governance and controls. Drax has acknowledged the shortcomings in its reporting procedures and committed to improving its data accuracy. The penalty will be paid into Ofgem’s Voluntary Contributions Fund. This week, 41 environmental groups penned a letter to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, urging him to cut Drax's state support. (BBC News )
?? The world's first sovereign carbon credit scheme – Suriname’s government has launched the world’s first sovereign carbon credits through the UNFCCC Paris Agreement, enabling the trade of carbon credits derived from the purported preservation of the country’s extensive Amazon rainforest cover – 93% of Suriname's total land mass. However, Indigenous and Tribal communities, who have long protected these forests, say they were largely excluded from the planning process. They were only informed weeks before the announcement, violating their right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. Concerns have also been raised about the allocation of revenues, with only 10% earmarked for these communities, sparking fears of inadequate compensation and a lack of transparency in the programme’s implementation. (Mongabay )