Australia could achieve complete decarbonisation by 2050

Greetings dear friends.

According to an analysis published by Climate Action Tracker, this country is on track to decarbonize its electricity generation system by 2050, obtaining 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources.

This country has made a great commitment to renewable energy. Image credit: pixabay.com.

Thanks to the renewable energy policies undertaken by the Oceanic country, by 2019 they had already exceeded 50% of electricity generation from renewable sources in 9 of the 12 months, and according to the consultant's report, if this path is sustained, this percentage will increase to 75% by 2040. Although they still largely depend on gas-fired power plants, the implementation of several large-scale storage projects could make Australia one of the first countries in the world with 100%.

This country has made a great bet on the implementation of wind and solar technologies to its electrical system, especially in the eastern states where they even estimate that it would be possible to reduce electricity costs in 2030 and also bring great employment opportunities in the renewable energy sector.

But the energy consulting firm that issued the report sees beyond the best forecasts, and estimates that if the gradual change is maintained the country would enjoy a completely carbon-free electricity generation system by 2050, thus making a great contribution to the goal of mitigating the increase in global temperature by less than 2°C.

Renewable generation and storage

We know that one of the biggest challenges to overcome with respect to renewable energy generation is backup power. Technologies that rely on the sun and wind to produce electricity depend on a fuel that is not constantly delivered, and to supply time slots where there is little or no generation, it is necessary to have backup power coming from fossil fuel plants or nuclear power plants.

In the case of Australia, some voices suggested combining the system with a nuclear power plant that would be able to support renewable generation without emitting CO₂, but many experts opposed this, warning that the electricity system as it was conceived could not include a nuclear power plant, nor do many believe that they still need gas as a backup.

So the solution envisaged is more generation and storage, the bet is focused on the storage of high power as a complement to renewable energy plants. Projects such as the Cultana solar farm of 280MW, and others such as the Tailem Bend Solar Project of 95MW and the stage one of the Bungala Solar Farm of 220MW near Port Augusta, show the power generation they seek to achieve; And in terms of the storage power that would be needed to make the grid operational 24/24, several projects have already been proposed, such as the one that houses the 100MW / 129MWh Tesla battery, which became the largest lithium-ion battery in the world, and which places Australia at the forefront of global energy storage technology.

The world's largest lithium battery is made by Tesla and is in Australia. Representative image designed by the author using public domain images 1, 2.

There is no doubt that Australia is setting a great example to the world by demonstrating that the transition to a renewable energy-based electricity supply with zero carbon emissions is possible, which in addition to putting your country at the forefront of this process, creates great employment opportunities in this sector, bringing greater welfare to its population. This is also an example of what can be achieved when there is the political and economic willingness to take action across all sectors to meet a target, in this case, zero net emissions by 2050.

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References consulted

Ambientum.com. La descarbonización de Australia puede completarse en 2040.
Energynews.com. Australia aprueba la construcción de una gran granja solar al sur del país
Energynews.com. Tesla conectará la mayor batería de iones de litio del mundo con un parque eólico en Australia.