Last year, the global prices of gas fell to record lows as the coronavirus cut demand. In recent weeks however, prices in Asia have surged to all-time highs. In many Euopean countries such as Spain, cold weather has almost stopped renewable energy generation for days on end as snow covers solar panels and the air is still. Meanwhile, gas supply is tightening due to a shortage of available LNG vessels. This is while the demand for heating across Europe and Asia is surging, and power demand is ramping up as the economies recover. As a result, household electricity demand and costs are surging across Europe.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has introduced “Export Superpower” as one of the five scenarios that will be modelled to inform the next iteration of the roadmap for developing Australia’s electricity network over the next 20 years. This scenario reflects a much stronger decarbonisation objective and the rise of a hydrogen economy, capitalising on Australia’s significant renewable resource advantages. It is a new scenario that was not considered in the 2020 ISP.
Does Australia have the potential to be a world renewable energy “superpower”?
A report in 2015 by Beyond Zero Emissions found that while energy harvesting equipment will be available to all nations, advantages will accrue to nations that have higher quality renewable energy resources and a greater harvesting territory, relative to their domestic needs. Australia’s renewable energy advantage ranks among the highest of nations globally.
You can find the report here
