Tom Gooch, VP Commercial, Neara

By Tom Gooch, VP Commercial, Neara

“AEMO’s latest warning on the long-term stability of Australia’s energy network beyond Eraring’s closure has made one thing clear. Though we’ve made good progress on the generation side of the energy transition equation, the constraint on Australia’s energy transition has shifted to the grid.

Energy policy and governance have markedly accelerated renewable capacity over the last three years, from the Capacity Investment Scheme underwriting large renewable projects to the Solar Sunshot program further up the value chain. But this progress and investment account for little if generation cannot be connected to the network or efficiently distributed to consumers.

Failing to leverage the existing network to its full potential is a lost opportunity for consumers, who will be left paying more for less reliable energy access. And with blackout fatigue already foreshadowed for this summer, public and private attention must consider all parts of the equation, looking beyond generation alone to unlock network constraints.

Transmission remains part of the solution to addressing network access issues. But relying on the pipeline of large transmission projects to be built on time and at cost is no longer realistic and cannot form the centrepiece of our strategy. To unlock the network’s potential, Australia’s public and private sectors must collaborate, removing data opacity constraints that have long impaired decision-making on where and how renewable generation can be introduced efficiently into the existing grid.

By aligning all relevant data and parties together under a holistic lens, significant clean energy can be delivered at the cheapest cost to the consumer without further derailing clean energy targets. We know the existing network holds multiple gigawatts of untapped potential, but unlocking it requires a shift in both policy and execution. Focusing on strategies that solve our short-term energy transition and security goals cannot be a supporting component. Optimising the network must lie at the core of Australia’s energy transition future. “

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