AEMO, CEOs in call-to-arms on clean energy build-out

afr.com:

The nation’s energy market operator will urge developers to exploit all available government schemes to get projects into construction, and to work harder on getting the backing of local communities for transmission.

Australia is on track to miss emissions targets by 2030 and is at increasing risk of blackouts, and executives at Worley, Fortescue Energy and aspiring offshore wind player DIRECT Infrastructure will call for an overhaul in the delivery of new projects to get progress back on track.

More big battery projects have got the go-ahead this year than wind or solar projects. 

Australian Energy Market Operator chief executive Daniel Westerman will point to an “urgent” need for new generation to replace old coal power plants, two-thirds of which AEMO expects to close in the next 10 years.

“Progressing projects through FID [final investment decision] is critical,” he will tell The Financial Review Energy and Climate Summit, which runs on Monday and Tuesday, naming replacement generation as the first challenge for the transition.

“If investors can’t see a path forward with existing market mechanisms, then look to current and upcoming schemes… to improve revenue confidence.”

Mr Westerman will point to a range of programs set up by federal and state governments that provide incentives for developers that add to the returns on offer through the National Electricity Market, now almost 25 years old.

They include state renewables targets that provide subsidies, the national capacity investment scheme that will offer long-term contracts for batteries and dispatchable clean energy, and NSW’s long-term energy service agreements which will underwrite private investment in new renewable generation, firming and long-duration