Australia Should Create More Renewable Energy Projects to Boost Power Security: Climate Council

Wind turbines seen at sunset in Albany, Western Australia, on Oct. 8, 2024. Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times

Australia should step up in creating renewable energy projects and phasing out the use of fossil fuels such as coal and gas, an environmental group said, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) pointed out that escalating tensions in the Middle East and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine highlighted the importance of global energy security.

“The 2024 World Energy Outlook shows in the five years to 2023, Australia’s increase in renewable energy generation was the most rapid globally. With millions of Aussie households and businesses taking up rooftop solar, and thousands of household and community batteries installed, it’s easy to see why,” said Greg Bourne, Climate Council energy transition councillor and former BP Australasia president.

“Our coal-fired power generators are on the way out as global demand for coal and gas enters a decline. Expanding coal and gas in Australia is a recipe for climate and economic chaos.”

Bourne noted that Climate Council’s research showed that if Australia stops opening new gas projects, supply from the existing projects can still satisfy the country’s shrinking domestic gas needs for more than six decades.

“This is the right moment for Australia to power past fossil fuels like coal and gas and build out more renewable energy projects,” said Bourne.

“Taking advantage of Australia’s clean energy advantages is critical to strengthening our energy security and affordability as the world electrifies.”

Changing Energy Profile

Bourne’s statement comes as the IEA said in its World Energy Outlook 2024 that while the transition to clean energy is entering an unprecedented rate of more than 560 gigawatts capacity in 2023, further disruptions brought by political conflicts heightened calls for stronger policies and greater investments to expedite clean energy expansion. 

The report supports the findings of a study, which stated that the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to a sustained upward trajectory in the price of natural gas and oil in the global market, impacting global energy trade.

In a separate statement, ING said that Iran’s missile attack to Israel has led to higher oil and gas prices, putting energy supply in the region at greater risk.

ING also noted that in the event Israel attacks Iran and destroys its downstream oil assets, this may likely result in an increase oil supply for the global market as the country due to its inability to process the fuel, resulting in a larger exportable surplus.

On the other hand, if Israel targets Iran’s mid and upstream oil assets, this would hamper Iran’s ability to export crude oil, putting as much as 1.7 million barrels per day of supply at risk, which could push oil prices above US$90 per barrel in 2025.

Amid these tensions, the IEA reported that clean energy meets virtually all growth in energy demand in aggregate in the Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS) between 2023 to 2025, although these trends may vary depending on the country.

Global data shows that the recorded generated renewable energy is at 8,988.90 terawatt-hours (TWh), mostly composed of hydroelectric, solar, and wind sources.

“In the second half of this decade, the prospect of more ample—or even surplus—supplies of oil and natural gas, depending on how geopolitical tensions evolve, would move us into a very different energy world from the one we have experienced in recent years during the global energy crisis,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

“It implies downward pressure on prices, providing some relief for consumers that have been hit hard by price spikes. The breathing space from fuel price pressures can provide policymakers with room to focus on stepping up investments in clean energy transitions and removing inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.”

As global electricity demand continues to grow, the latest World Energy Outlook highlighted that ongoing conflicts may also indirectly affect current energy policies, especially among developing nations, regarding adoption of clean energy sources.

Latest data from the IEA showed that global spending on renewable energy reached US$2 trillion in 2024, but higher financing costs brought by economic headwinds hinder new projects from these economies.

Australia Needs Less Weather Dependent Generation Sources

Meanwhile, Australian Energy Council CEO Louisa Kinnear warned that as the proportion of renewable energy increases and legacy fossil fuel generators retire, wholesale electricity prices are expected to become more volatile, further worsened by the lack of low-emissions long duration or seasonal storage options.

Kinnear noted that Australia needs long duration energy storage (LDES) which is flexible enough to provide back-up generation during both extreme intraday periods and during days or weeks of wind droughts.

“Australia will require highly flexible, long-duration generation sources that are less weather dependent to navigate through these ‘low-renewables’ periods and provide this insurance to ensure reliability,” said Kinnear.

Similarly, Kinnear called for further collaboration between energy market players and policy makers to ensure all consumers will benefit amid the transition to renewable energy.