Existing plants should be thought of as expensive, emergency backup as renewables are scaled up, report says

An increased reliance on gas in Australia forelectricity generation could lead to higher electricity bills without decreasing pollution, a new analysis by the Climate Council has found.

The report, released on Thursday, says an electricity grid that is even more reliant on gas generators will hit people’s hip pockets through higher power bills and do little to stop pollution.

“Existing gas plants should be thought of as a short-term, expensive, emergency backup as renewable energy and storage is rapidly scaled up,” the report says.

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A climate councillor, Greg Bourne, said any perceived environmental benefits from switching to gas generation were short-term and cancelled out by methane emissions from its production.

And gas prices were rising – all evidence says they’ll continue to – while renewable energy projects were now competitive on price and had falling costs.

“Don’t believe the hype,” Bourne said.

The major parties say gas is a vital “transition fuel” as Australia moves towards a low-emissions economy, powered largely by renewables. Gas generators could replace the ageing, dirty coal stations while renewable power including solar and wind, backed by batteries and other storage, is built.

But there is a shortage of gas available for Australian industry use and electricity generation, in part because gas companies have locked in large export contracts while state governments have restricted new developments.



The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, called gas industry chiefs to Canberra for a second time on Wednesday to work out how to address the looming shortage crisis.

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The Climate Council’s report says significant development of new gas plants is unfeasible without a massive expansion of unconventional gas, such as coal seam gas. “The sheer volume of gas required, the cost, the lock-in of long-term emissions, and community concerns makes this unrealistic,” it says.

It also warns that older gas power stations, such as the 50-year-old Torrens Island generator near Adelaide, were just as polluting as coal-fired plants.

Another climate councillor, Andrew Stock, who oversaw the development of three large gas power stations on the east coast, said technologies such as solar thermal, hydro and biomass plants could provide stable, reliable electricity.

“Combining these technologies with wind, solar PV, and large-scale energy storage, can meet electricity demand round-the-clock, without locking in future emissions, or volatile high power prices,” he said.

