With an election imminent, it’s now or never for our political leaders to be braver and bolder on climate change through both coherent policy and immediate action, writes Engineers Australia’s CEO Dr Bronwyn Evans AM HonFIEAust CPEng.
Rapidly transforming the electricity sector is vital. Not only is the current electricity grid our biggest emitter, but much of our economy — from transport to heating and heavy industry — will need to switch to electric energy to reduce emissions. That shift will only succeed with a larger, zero emissions power network.
Right now the energy transition is moving fast and on a hopeful trajectory. Key technologies such as smart inverters and batteries are enabling fundamental shifts across the grid.
Engineering is at the heart of this rapid deployment of existing technologies. Engineers are also at the forefront of developing innovative and affordable technologies and systems to create climate solutions such as green hydrogen, low emissions steel, energy storage, and carbon capture utilisation.
In 2022 we know a modern electricity grid, powered by diverse renewable energy and storage, can provide reliable, clean and affordable power. Operating the grid within technical parameters ensures the system remains stable. Adding storage such as grid scale batteries and pumped hydro, and increasing interconnection between states, will enhance the security, stability and reliability of the power supply.
CSIRO, AEMO and the Finkel Review have all said there are no technical barriers to Australia achieving secure, reliable power using a high proportion of renewables.
We have the technology. Over the next few years we must link these technologies with the right operational architecture and market reforms to demonstrate that they can be delivered at scale.
But there will still be challenges. The NEM Engineering Framework has identified issues such as the significant increase in the number of electric vehicles and energy efficient buildings in the future.
The complexity of the task is exacerbated by the fact that for a period we must maintain the capabilities of the current system while at the same time design and implement the future system. Different stages of the transition will throw up challenges that require choices to ensure we can balance supply and demand.
The supply of necessary skills, particularly engineering skills, is critical. Our leaders must put an energy workforce plan in place that enables the energy transition to continue quickly and at scale.
The stakes are high — climate change is an urgent challenge and requires the biggest engineering transition Australia has faced
A decade ago, the idea of an electricity grid based on wind and solar backed up by storage did not seem real. The Australian Energy Market Operator expects the share of renewables to be around 80 per cent by 2030. Labor’s emissions targets assume an 82 per cent share of renewables in the grid by 2030, and the federal Coalition is forecasting 69 per cent.
Both sides can do better.
Come election day this will be front and centre of many voters’ minds.
As an retired engineer with a lifetime of experience in the electricity industry, I disagree with your haste to push renewable without considering cost? Any engineering designs to introduce more intermittent renewable sources must consider cost to industry and the consumer_ you didn’t even mention cost. Incorporation of other fuels will best proceed if taken carefully to avoid reducing security and increasing costs.
Dear Dr Evans, one wonders if your opinion piece was watered down for the audience; and there is no indication it was conveyed to the leaders of either party. Several old Fellows have been trying to get EA to focus on the need to decarbonise energy for some time and have not been able to get EA management’s ear. I for one have been calling for the EA to run a robust study to formulate a plan for the community and its so-called leaders. In short, it is all very well to urge the politicians to do something but falling short of our responsibilities not to tell them how to do it. That is, what combination of electricity generation and transmission technologies will achieve the reliability required to keep society operating safely despite the vagaries of the weather, in the most cost effective manner (socially, environmentally, financially). Such studies have been done elsewhere in the world. It’s high time one was done here; and BTW AEMO’s ISP is not a substitute for such for obvious reasons.
Regards
Ken Muir
0409120794
Dear Bronwyn
A careful reading of the public submissions listed particularly those from experienced members of Engineers Australia shows that many could not support your opinion piece.
-Public submissions to Australian Energy Market Operator draft Integrated System Plan 2022.
-Public submissions to the Federal Parliamentary Inquiry into the current circumstances, and the future need and potential for dispatchable energy generation and storage capability in Australia.
I believe it is time for all Engineers Australia members to move back from unsubstantiated political correctness and associated virtue signalling, to sound professional engineering advice or comment mindful of our Code of Ethics. The Engineers Australia submission to the AEMO draft ISP is an excellent step in that direction.
It is nice to see Engineers Australia supporting moves for more aggressive action on climate change.
As correctly noted, both sides can do better.
Unfortunately this overlooks that neither side will do better if they’re the only parties people vote for.
If we genuinely want the government to do better we need to elect more, evidence-based, climate-progressive parties to replace them, or at the very least fill a sizable cross-bench. This election there will be a number of viable parties with appropriate policy, including but not limited to: the Fusion Party and the Democrats.
If we are truly to act with appropriate speed disruption of the status quo will be necessary.
This is stating the obvious to Australian engineers who are keeping themselves well informed by reading Professor Ross Garnauts books and tuning into Engineers Australia CPD webinars.
I have lost count of the no.ber of times I have tried to inform my non engineering liberal party supporting friends of the transition plan required for the Australian Energy sector, let alone become frustrated at our politicians inability to include transition in their
vocabulary and commit to the long term future that affects our children and grandchildren.
Engineers Australia needs to invest more in lobbying federal politicians in the facts of what is required to transition to the sustai able economic environmental model of the future for the sake of our children and grand children.
We have the technology and can further develop it for the rollout of a renewables based system. There is already enough evidence that this will be lower overall cost to industry and consumers than propping up the fossil fuel system which did a great job for us in the last. Social and employment transition are the key components to secure community support. Lacking in detail so far although the NSW government is making a good start.
Thankyou Bronwyn Evans for this article! As the state election campaigns are in full swing in South Australia I have been appalled at the complete absence of policy statements from any political party on the topic of climate change and the urgent transition needed in this space. It has been heartening to see private industry (including EA) getting on with the job. Regardless, EA please keep highlighting the political inaction in Australia and the damage this is doing to both the sustainability effort and the reputation of Australia as a global citizen. I remain optimistic that Australian politics will soon wake up and acknowledge the gravity of this topic!