Explore the latest developments concerning Energy blueprint shake-up.
Energy blueprint shake-up as 'market moves faster than the systems plan'
Not a single wind farm has begun construction in Australia in 2025. (ABC News: Nathan Morris)
The body that runs Australia's biggest power market has scaled back its plans for high-voltage power lines and wind farms to meet the country's green energy targets.
Instead, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has forecast Australia will need to rely more heavily on big solar farms, batteries and households if it is to get 82 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
The agency has today released the draft version of its latest "integrated system plan", which it describes as a road map for decarbonising Australia's electricity system.
Australia’s energy grid must triple capacity by 2050 with major increase to wind and solar, Aemo says
Market operator says capital cost of infrastructure under optimal path would be $128bn in today’s dollars, but price of delay is even higher
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The capacity of Australia’s main electricity grid will need to triple by 2050 – including a fivefold expansion of large-scale wind, solar and storage – under the most likely development path, the national energy market operator says.
The estimate is included in the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) draft “integrated system plan†for the national electricity market, the power grid that connects the five eastern states and the ACT.
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Coal-fired power until 2049 as energy grid costs rise to $128b
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The Australian Energy Market Operator has pushed out its forecast for the end of coal power in the eastern states by 11 years and slashed the amount of new transmission lines it expects by 2050, but says the cost of the system as it transitions towards more renewables will still increase to $128 billion.
Cost estimates for new poles and wires projects have surged by up to 100 per cent since 2024, while the timing for building them has also been pushed out after extensive consultation for the operator’s draft 2026 blueprint for the power grid.
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