An off-grid solar installation in Australia. The case for a
binding commitment to reducing emissions and increasing deployment of
renewables in the country is increasingly economic as well as environmental and
political.
Australian utility company AGL has called on the country’s
regional and local government to “set both binding and aspirational medium and
long-term emission reduction targets”, while outlining its own commitments to
carbon reduction.
AGL Energy Limited this morning issued the ‘Greenhouse Gas
Policy’ document, which the company says has been published in recognition of
the fact that the company “has a key role to play in gradually reducing
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while providing secure and affordable electricity”.
As well as a number of other commitments which include
improving the greenhouse gas efficiency of its activities in general, the
company has said it will not be involved in the building and financing of new,
conventional coal-fired power plants, as well as pledging to close down all
existing coal fired power plants by 2050. Nor will it extend the life of any
existing coal plants, according to the document. Additionally, AGL will include
forecasting of carbon prices into its decision making process on capital
expenditure for generation projects.
As well as promising to continue investing in renewable or
“near-zero” emissions technologies, AGL said, it will also prioritise its
customer offerings in distributed generation, battery storage, demand management
and related “innovative and cost-effective solutions”.
The Greenhouse Gas Policy “pathway to decarbonisation” also
includes what could be interpreted as a stern warning for the national
government. Since prime minister Tony Abbott came into power in September 2013,
there has been open hostility and scepticism at the top level towards renewable
energy policy.
Abbott called for the abolition of the country’s Renewable
Energy Target (RET) in August last year, resulting in a stand-off, with a number
of compromises proposed by the minister for the environment and
minister for industry and science last month. A poll conducted late last year
of 5,000 Australian residents found that almost
90% objected to cutting the RET.
AGL has proposed that the government now consider
continuation of incentives for renewables, as well as broadening the scope of
incentives to include a wider number of technologies and zero or near-zero
emissions energy sources. As far as the incumbent energy system is concerned,
AGL recommended the government give consideration to setting emissions
standards for all power generation and to put in place a policy similar to
AGL’s of retiring or improving the efficiency of thermal power plants.
Despite the obvious environmental implications AGL also said
its public policy recommendations came partly from economic motivations.
“As a significant exporter of fossil fuels, Australia also
has a strategic interest in managing risks and opportunities associated with
international climate change policy,” the company wrote.
“Development and deployment of new or improved near-zero
emission technologies (e.g. CCS) should be a focus of domestic GHG reduction
policy due to the value at risk of reduced Australian exports.”
Economics of solar-plus-storage
In a recent blog for PV Tech Storage, John Grimes of the
Australian Energy Storage Council – who also serves as chief
executive of the Australian Solar Energy Council – likened
the prime minister to the legendary figure of King Canute, who in
apocryphal tales is said to have attempted to hold back the tide of the sea.
Grimes said that despite political opposition, the economics of solar,
especially when coupled with storage in ‘grid-remote’ areas of the country, are
compelling enough that the wave of change away from fossil fuels could be
unstoppable.
“Australian prime minister Tony Abbott is like King Canute,
standing on the shore commanding the tide of renewable energy and energy
storage not to come in,” Grimes wrote.
“But no matter how much he rails against the future, this
prime minister is way too late to stop the tide of progress. A range of factors
are coming together at the same time that will see distributed solar PV
combined with energy storage move into the early mainstream in the coming years
– and sooner than later. The primary driver is economics.”
Changing energy landscape
AGL, which was established in 1937 and serves over 3.8
million residential and small business customers, mostly in the east of
Australia. Its renewable energy project arm is also the country’s biggest
developer of clean energy projects. It was reported this week that the final
panels have been installed at AGL’s 102MW
utility-scale Nyngan plant in New South Wales, ahead of the start of
commercial operations, which is planned for June.
Big utilities in other territories appear to have taken
similar moves to readjust their business models in the face of the changing
energy landscape. Germany’s E.On recently announced a major
corporate restructuring, including major investment in renewables, “to
respond to dramatically altered global energy markets, technical innovation,
and more diverse customer expectations with a bold new beginning”.
No comments:
Post a Comment