Australia’s fossil fuel-dominated power grid on the east coast is on track to become one of the world’s most decarbonised and diversified.Credit:Fairfax
This is because increased rates of electrification across the economy and the need for more renewable energy to produce hydrogen will lift demand for on-demand power to back up the vastly greater roll-out of wind and solar.
However,Quong acknowledges that any role for coal in a net-zero power system was far from a sure thing,as it would be “politically and socially complicated ... and ultimately challenging”.
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The report suggests thatcarbon capture and storage,which is also controversial and there are doubts about its ability to function at scale,will “gain importance” in the 2030s.
Domestic demand for low-carbon hydrogen,meanwhile,would increase nearly 13 times by 2050 as heavy industry seeks alternative fuels for processes that cannot be electrified.
After the federal government has escalated its aspirations for Australia to become a world-leading exporter of green hydrogen – the fuel made when renewable energy-powered electrolysers are used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen – BloombergNEF has also charted a transition pathway for locally produced green hydrogen to account for 5.7 per cent of global consumption by 2050.
This would require a massive increase in wind and solar capacity to 812 gigawatts – 21 times more than today’s levels – at an additional cost of $592 billion.