Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen has outlined Australia’s renewable energy plans and criticised opposition’s nuclear proposals in a National Press Club speech.
Bowen described the current decade as “critical” for Australia’s energy grid, economy, and climate action.
The Minister highlighted the government’s progress in increasing renewable energy capacity.
“The Integrated System Plan confirmed that renewables in the National Electricity Market reached as high as 72 per cent in 2023, with average penetration reaching just under 40 per cent,” he said.
“In the past 12 months, more than 12.5 gigawatts of generation and storage projects were approved for grid connection.
“For some context, that’s enough to power 2.9 million homes, or all the households in the greater metro regions of Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide and Canberra combined.
“Since we’ve been in Government we’ve seen a 25 per cent increase in renewables in the grid with record investment in batteries and storage.”
He outlined plans to reach 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030, citing the success of initiatives like the Capacity Investment Scheme in attracting private investment.
Bowen also stressed the urgency of modernising Australia’s energy system, referencing the Australian Energy Market Operator’s recommendation for $122 billion in investment for generation, storage, and transmission infrastructure.
The Minister took aim at the opposition’s nuclear energy proposals, describing them as “uncosted, unexplained, and undeliverable” as he argued that nuclear is incompatible with Australia’s growing renewable sector and would lead to higher energy costs for consumers.
According to Bowen, Australia has to act now, as we are at a “critical decade” for energy transition and climate action.
He argued that delaying action would be more expensive and result in missed opportunities for economic development and emissions reduction.
“We don’t have the luxury of delaying investment in new generation for another 15 or 20 years while we wait for a new form of energy generation that Australia has never had,” he said.
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