As per AEMO’s latest Integrated System Plan draft figures, 30 GW of wind and solar capacity is required to replace outgoing thermal power generation by 2040, and it can go up to 47 GW as the government is serious about climate change.

AEMO listed the grid transformation scenarios ranging from “slow change” through to “step change” – it has become essential to listen to experts and try to keep global warming close to 1.5°C. The most carbon-intensive fossil fuel is coal, and replacing it with renewable energy sources is the most crucial measure to bring down emissions to curb dangerous climate change.

Wind, Solar supported by distributed (mostly rooftop) solar, hydro, and “dispatchable” technologies like big batteries, are required to meet this new capacity. Coal being virtually eliminated and gas being replaced by cheaper storage technologies, only the above sources can help meet the energy demand.

The important message is there is a need to take stringent urgent action. The ISP draft listed a series of urgent actions required to be taken to accommodate the inevitable switch to wind and solar energy resources.

The AEMO’s Integrated System Plan Draft also unveiled the details of – how to build a least-cost system for Australia. AEMO chief Audrey Zibelman said the following statement accompanying the report “The Draft 2020 ISP sets out how to build a least-cost system for Australia, but for consumers to receive the full benefit of the plan, important additional work on market design and infrastructure funding options needs to be undertaken,”