The return of a Labor Government is also being hailed as an endorsement of Australia’s remarkable renewables journey, but there’s still a long way to go.
A lot of issues were at play in the recent elections, but energy—responsible for around 70% of our emissions—was certainly one of the most important. While the cost of powering homes & businesses is front and centre for most people, the sort of energy we use is also up there.
Labor spent a lot of time promoting their clean energy record and promising even more investment. This sounds promising, but they will need to skilfully manage all the many expectations and outcomes if we have any realistic chance of hitting 82% renewable energy by 2030—its about 50% now—or Net Zero by 2050.
Already there’s a determined push to usher in many more clean energy projects. One of the most challenging will be getting the 6 nominated offshore wind zones around the country up and running—there are 2 in NSW—including all the planning, infrastructure, investment and up-skilling that will be required.
Another issue is creating a firm plan for Net Zero. Labor had already begun developing plans for economic sectors like transport, agriculture and the built environment, and they’re due to be finalised this year.
Given the high expectations of state governments, industry, investors and the community, you can assume there’’ll be a lot of negotiations, compromises and trade-offs. One area where you can expect a lot of debate is the 2035 emissions-reduction target which has big impacts for industry including mining.
Getting more renewables into our electricity is one thing, but making sure we have the infrastructure to handle it is another. By all accounts Australia’s national grid will have to at least double in size, including adding more generators, transmission lines, poles and wires.
Labor began a review of the National Electricity Market late last year and what it recommends will be closely watched. It’s a chance to really get an energy plan for the future right, one that boosts efficiency, capacity and flexibility.
The election put clean energy in the spotlight, we now need to keep it there.
Cheers, John Fennell