Efficiency

Time for ‘honest discussion’ about energy: CEC

The Clean Energy Council has called for a national summit on energy market reform to set the record straight on what is occurring in South Australia and start a mature conversation about practical reforms to support the continued transition to clean energy in the state.

Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton said recent media reporting of the energy situation in South Australia and the misunderstanding of many commentators demonstrated the complexity of the matter, and the broad range of vested interests involved.

“We have been calling for several years for a more strategic approach to energy market reform that can deliver a 21st century energy system driven by renewable energy. Unfortunately it has taken recent events in South Australia to highlight the importance of long-term strategic energy planning,” Thornton said.

“We are calling for major stakeholders, industry and government representatives to come together and lay the groundwork for sensible and considered changes in the energy market that will serve power users better.

“It is unfortunate that the complexity of this issue has resulted in some commentators settling on renewable energy as the root cause of all the challenges in South Australia. This is simply untrue.”

A new report by the Clean Energy Council, The rise of Renewables in South Australia: Current state of play, examines trends including power prices, reliability and system security.

The report includes analysis that shows wind power output correlates with lower wholesale power prices in South Australia. This is in contrast to a strong correlation between the price of gas and electricity prices.

“Gas has always been the strongest indicator of electricity prices in South Australia, and the analysis shows that very clearly. At some points last week gas prices were four times their usual rate, and this coincided with very high power prices,” Thornton said.

Thornton said reliability remained strong in South Australia, with the Australian Energy Market Operator confirming that the SA system is still meeting its reliability requirements of 99.998 per cent of power demand supplied. The current issues relate to fluctuating prices while the interconnector is down and gas is in increasingly shorter supply, he said.

 

To read the full article by the Clean Energy Council visit their News Room.

Download a PDF of the “The rise of Renewables in South Australia: Current state of play” report.

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