2 days ago
The burning question about renewable energy
Every time a light is switched on in a farmhouse, or a dairy, or an abattoir, that electricity has arrived via a power line that runs across the paddocks of hundreds of farmers.
It's a truth forgotten by some advocates for rural and regional Australia that we need power in the country, every bit as much as people need power in the cities.
Australia is in the middle of shifting its power system from one fueled primarily by coal to one powered primarily by a mix of clean energy technologies and storage.
Currently, around 40 per cent of our electricity is generated from renewable projects like wind, solar and hydro.
By 2028, the time the next federal election rolls around, this will be closer to 60 per cent. If government plans are successful, by the election after that this number will be above 80 per cent.
That shift is happening because coal plants are reaching the end of their lives and becoming increasingly unreliable. Nexa Advisory has been analysing the performance and reliability of Australia's remaining coal-fired power stations. Their work shows that coal has now become the greatest threat to the reliability of our energy supply.
Yallourn in Victoria had unplanned outages for 32 per cent of the time in 2024, Callide B in Queensland was offline for 42 per cent of 2024 due to unplanned outages and maintenance, and each of Eraring's units in NSW experience an average of about two months of downtime annually - all of which pushes our bills higher.
Throw in extraordinarily high prices for gas stoked by international conflict and supply issues, and we have a growing problem.
To maintain a reliable, affordable power supply for all Australians - across the bush and from the cities to the coast - we urgently need to build infrastructure that replaces the coal and gas plants that have served us well in the past, but no longer can in the future.
This is the plan that the majority of Australians voted for at the recent federal election.
So the burning question now is, how can we do this in a way that works for rural and regional Australia?
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RE-Alliance has been working with regional communities at the centre of the shift to renewables for more than a decade. Our work with leaders across country Australia has shown us there is a real appetite for a seat at the table in shaping legacy benefits like better roads, housing infrastructure and energy discounts for entire postcodes.
They also want to share local knowledge on where projects should be situated to work best for farmers, nature and communities.
There are hundreds of councillors, council staff, leaders of community organisations, farmers and passionate locals who want to come together to get the best outcomes for their communities - we need to listen to them and get on with the job of making this once-in-a-generation change work for rural and regional Australia.
Every time a light is switched on in a farmhouse, or a dairy, or an abattoir, that electricity has arrived via a power line that runs across the paddocks of hundreds of farmers.
It's a truth forgotten by some advocates for rural and regional Australia that we need power in the country, every bit as much as people need power in the cities.
Australia is in the middle of shifting its power system from one fueled primarily by coal to one powered primarily by a mix of clean energy technologies and storage.
Currently, around 40 per cent of our electricity is generated from renewable projects like wind, solar and hydro.
By 2028, the time the next federal election rolls around, this will be closer to 60 per cent. If government plans are successful, by the election after that this number will be above 80 per cent.
That shift is happening because coal plants are reaching the end of their lives and becoming increasingly unreliable. Nexa Advisory has been analysing the performance and reliability of Australia's remaining coal-fired power stations. Their work shows that coal has now become the greatest threat to the reliability of our energy supply.
Yallourn in Victoria had unplanned outages for 32 per cent of the time in 2024, Callide B in Queensland was offline for 42 per cent of 2024 due to unplanned outages and maintenance, and each of Eraring's units in NSW experience an average of about two months of downtime annually - all of which pushes our bills higher.
Throw in extraordinarily high prices for gas stoked by international conflict and supply issues, and we have a growing problem.
To maintain a reliable, affordable power supply for all Australians - across the bush and from the cities to the coast - we urgently need to build infrastructure that replaces the coal and gas plants that have served us well in the past, but no longer can in the future.
This is the plan that the majority of Australians voted for at the recent federal election.
So the burning question now is, how can we do this in a way that works for rural and regional Australia?
READ MORE:
RE-Alliance has been working with regional communities at the centre of the shift to renewables for more than a decade. Our work with leaders across country Australia has shown us there is a real appetite for a seat at the table in shaping legacy benefits like better roads, housing infrastructure and energy discounts for entire postcodes.
They also want to share local knowledge on where projects should be situated to work best for farmers, nature and communities.
There are hundreds of councillors, council staff, leaders of community organisations, farmers and passionate locals who want to come together to get the best outcomes for their communities - we need to listen to them and get on with the job of making this once-in-a-generation change work for rural and regional Australia.
Every time a light is switched on in a farmhouse, or a dairy, or an abattoir, that electricity has arrived via a power line that runs across the paddocks of hundreds of farmers.
It's a truth forgotten by some advocates for rural and regional Australia that we need power in the country, every bit as much as people need power in the cities.
Australia is in the middle of shifting its power system from one fueled primarily by coal to one powered primarily by a mix of clean energy technologies and storage.
Currently, around 40 per cent of our electricity is generated from renewable projects like wind, solar and hydro.
By 2028, the time the next federal election rolls around, this will be closer to 60 per cent. If government plans are successful, by the election after that this number will be above 80 per cent.
That shift is happening because coal plants are reaching the end of their lives and becoming increasingly unreliable. Nexa Advisory has been analysing the performance and reliability of Australia's remaining coal-fired power stations. Their work shows that coal has now become the greatest threat to the reliability of our energy supply.
Yallourn in Victoria had unplanned outages for 32 per cent of the time in 2024, Callide B in Queensland was offline for 42 per cent of 2024 due to unplanned outages and maintenance, and each of Eraring's units in NSW experience an average of about two months of downtime annually - all of which pushes our bills higher.
Throw in extraordinarily high prices for gas stoked by international conflict and supply issues, and we have a growing problem.
To maintain a reliable, affordable power supply for all Australians - across the bush and from the cities to the coast - we urgently need to build infrastructure that replaces the coal and gas plants that have served us well in the past, but no longer can in the future.
This is the plan that the majority of Australians voted for at the recent federal election.
So the burning question now is, how can we do this in a way that works for rural and regional Australia?
READ MORE:
RE-Alliance has been working with regional communities at the centre of the shift to renewables for more than a decade. Our work with leaders across country Australia has shown us there is a real appetite for a seat at the table in shaping legacy benefits like better roads, housing infrastructure and energy discounts for entire postcodes.
They also want to share local knowledge on where projects should be situated to work best for farmers, nature and communities.
There are hundreds of councillors, council staff, leaders of community organisations, farmers and passionate locals who want to come together to get the best outcomes for their communities - we need to listen to them and get on with the job of making this once-in-a-generation change work for rural and regional Australia.
Every time a light is switched on in a farmhouse, or a dairy, or an abattoir, that electricity has arrived via a power line that runs across the paddocks of hundreds of farmers.
It's a truth forgotten by some advocates for rural and regional Australia that we need power in the country, every bit as much as people need power in the cities.
Australia is in the middle of shifting its power system from one fueled primarily by coal to one powered primarily by a mix of clean energy technologies and storage.
Currently, around 40 per cent of our electricity is generated from renewable projects like wind, solar and hydro.
By 2028, the time the next federal election rolls around, this will be closer to 60 per cent. If government plans are successful, by the election after that this number will be above 80 per cent.
That shift is happening because coal plants are reaching the end of their lives and becoming increasingly unreliable. Nexa Advisory has been analysing the performance and reliability of Australia's remaining coal-fired power stations. Their work shows that coal has now become the greatest threat to the reliability of our energy supply.
Yallourn in Victoria had unplanned outages for 32 per cent of the time in 2024, Callide B in Queensland was offline for 42 per cent of 2024 due to unplanned outages and maintenance, and each of Eraring's units in NSW experience an average of about two months of downtime annually - all of which pushes our bills higher.
Throw in extraordinarily high prices for gas stoked by international conflict and supply issues, and we have a growing problem.
To maintain a reliable, affordable power supply for all Australians - across the bush and from the cities to the coast - we urgently need to build infrastructure that replaces the coal and gas plants that have served us well in the past, but no longer can in the future.
This is the plan that the majority of Australians voted for at the recent federal election.
So the burning question now is, how can we do this in a way that works for rural and regional Australia?
READ MORE:
RE-Alliance has been working with regional communities at the centre of the shift to renewables for more than a decade. Our work with leaders across country Australia has shown us there is a real appetite for a seat at the table in shaping legacy benefits like better roads, housing infrastructure and energy discounts for entire postcodes.
They also want to share local knowledge on where projects should be situated to work best for farmers, nature and communities.
There are hundreds of councillors, council staff, leaders of community organisations, farmers and passionate locals who want to come together to get the best outcomes for their communities - we need to listen to them and get on with the job of making this once-in-a-generation change work for rural and regional Australia.
