All the talk, however, is in the eastern states, where stakeholders have been debating \u2018renewables\u2019 versus \u2018reliables\u2019, and industry\u2019s need for clarity. For months the media speculated about the government\u2019s snub to Dr Finkel\u2019s 50th and final recommendation \u2013 a clean energy target (CET), which to some coalition MPs was as noxious as an emissions trading scheme. Then, in mid-October, Prime Minister Turnbull sought to resolve the CET calamity by proposing a ‘National Energy Guarantee\u2019 intended to improve supply reliability, with an emissions \u2018intensity\u2019 scheme to reduce CO2<\/sub> emissions and meet Australia\u2019s pledge to the Paris Agreement<\/a> on climate change.<\/p>\n Now, stakeholders are waiting on modelling outcomes that support predictions of better reliability and affordability. Many in the renewables industry, however, are already convinced the emissions scheme will further repress investment in energy innovation. And for the climate-change sceptics, new titles and acronyms haven\u2019t dispelled the whiff of an emissions trading scheme and carbon tax. Altogether, ambiguities and partisan politics have been choking progress like dirty brown coal dust.<\/p>\n But why is WA disconnected from the commotion \u2013 are we still sitting cosy on our big cushion of natural gas? WA\u2019s access to gas-fired power does reduce our vulnerability to power failures, but we\u2019re also less relevant because the National Electricity Market (NEM) has never included WA. Instead, we have a \u2018Wholesale Energy Market\u2019 that comprises three government-owned corporations (Horizon Power<\/a>, Synergy<\/a>, Western Power<\/a>) in the electricity supply chain.<\/p>\n A recent report by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre<\/a>, titled Power to the People: WA\u2019s Energy Future<\/em><\/a>, is a timely study of WA\u2019s energy sector and its readiness for \u2018the energy revolution\u2019. One consequence of the state\u2019s capacity for gas-fired power is that our energy network \u2013 although just as knotty as the NEM \u2013 has developed in isolation. In the past 25 years, WA\u2019s power consumption has almost doubled and gas has surpassed coal as our main energy source. Unlike other states that have predominantly coal-fired power generation, WA hasn\u2019t experienced a burning need to establish large-scale renewable energy projects \u2026 or production targets.<\/p>\n Reflecting this, electricity supplier Synergy has announced it will soon retire several coal- and gas-generation assets; nevertheless, the State Government\u2019s 2017 budget contained no major renewable energy projects, only a regional power station with \u201cthe ability to accommodate contributions from distributed energy sources\u201d. WA\u2019s road to renewables is not looking smooth, as report co-author Associate Professor\u00a0Rebecca Cassells<\/a> explains.<\/p>\n “WA is still to take substantial action and lags when it comes to investment in large-scale renewable projects. The state currently has only one such project \u2013 a 20 megawatt solar farm at Emu Downs with a project value of $50 million,” according to Cassells.<\/p>\n \u201cOther states and territories have set themselves proactive policies, including renewable energy targets to reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to Australia\u2019s emissions reduction target.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, what we do have in common with the rest of the nation is debate about energy affordability. In WA, those who\u2019ve invested upfront in rooftop solar are able to mitigate rising electricity charges, such as the one delivered in the latest state budget. However, the statistics for rooftop solar in WA reveal a major gap in energy policy, explains Cassell\u2019s colleague and report co-author, Dr Yashar Tarverdi<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cLow-income households are far less likely to have access to solar PV, either because they can\u2019t make the initial capital outlay or because they rent,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s no incentive for landlords to install solar PV, so it\u2019s rare for rental properties to have solar-generated energy.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, data behind the report shows that most of WA\u2019s renewable energy is generated by solar PV in mid-to-high socioeconomic areas. Low-income households are clearly blocked from both contributing to and benefiting from solar-energy uptake.<\/p>\n The overarching concern of many economists is that low-income earners, who spend a much greater proportion of their household budget on energy than the average household, are at risk of \u2018energy poverty\u2019, a significant portion will be behind-the-meter \u2018citizen\u2019 networks, which raises another of Tarverdi\u2019s concerns: the lack of new policy and regulatory frameworks to ensure equity in the exploitation of off-grid options.<\/p>\n The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) has also warned about \u2018energy stress\u2019 and current regulatory systems. Community interest in so-called disruptive approaches for producing and distributing electricity through microgrids is surging, but without an informed regulatory system these innovations could actually increase energy costs for participating low-income households.<\/p>\n Research published by the national Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living<\/a> discusses the emergence of \u2018citizen-based power systems\u2019 and their impact on supply utilities, and concludes that the traditional grid must adapt to accommodate distributed, bi-directional energy systems.<\/p>\n But under the current regulatory framework, distributed renewables are a double-edge sword, says Tarverdi. He fears the emergence of an under-regulated \u2018uber energy market\u2019 in which households invest in microgrids partly to lower their long-term energy costs, but more so to profit from selling spare generated energy to neighbouring grid users.<\/p>\n Another risk is that the less affluent residents who are unable to leave the main grid are burdened with the increased proportional cost of maintaining the grid connection for all to use. Which has prompted Professor Alan Duncan<\/a>, who leads the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, to emphasise that as energy markets evolve, consumer protection is critical.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout proactive policies we risk a two-tiered system favouring those that can afford energy innovations over those that can\u2019t,\u201d Duncan warns. \u201cWA needs an energy system that gets power to the people at the right time and right place, at acceptable prices, using technologies that will power us well into the future.<\/p>\n \u201cLeadership and cooperation is needed to address the challenges, risks and policy issues to achieve this.\u201d<\/p>\n So how should WA be readying for the imminent energy revolution?<\/p>\n To start with, Duncan says, we need emissions-reduction policies and renewable energy targets, and the government should reconsider incentives for solar installations.<\/p>\n Victoria\u2019s target is 40 per cent green energy generation by 2025, and the ACT is aiming for 100 percent renewables by 2020. Tarverdi makes the point that although the targets are ambitious, it\u2019s the vision that triggers innovation. For example, advances in lithium-ion battery storage could offer WA a top opportunity to capitalise on its high reserves of lithium<\/a> and invest in the development of new li-ion technologies.<\/p>\n For large-scale renewable energy networks, storage will be the clincher. A key recommendation from the Finkel Review was that future renewable energy projects be able to produce dispatchable power \u2013 that is, to store and then release energy to accommodate demand fluctuation and the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources. The BCEC report also highlights the importance of adequate storage options, as well as balancing efficiencies in any conceivable future of large-scale renewables solutions. Efficient energy storage is a major global R&D mission that will certainly reach its goal; could it then be lights out for fossil fuels?<\/p>\n While technological advances and retail competition will continue to drive cost and performance improvements for solar\/storage systems, Duncan believes that no single energy source will deliver a national panacea for lower energy costs, lower emissions and meeting our commitment to the Paris climate accord. The best strategy, he says, is to optimise and integrate current and emerging energy technologies, and carefully manage the market changes.<\/p>\n Regulation authorities are now getting the call to action. Western Power recently requested the Australian Energy Market Commission<\/a> amend a rule that prevents distribution businesses using individual power systems as an alternative to a grid connection, particularly in rural areas. The Commission accepted that, due to declining costs of solar PV and batteries, providing an off-grid supply can be cheaper than maintaining the power lines that link remote customers to the grid, but that \u201ca range of laws, rules and jurisdictional instruments is required to address these issues\u201d.<\/p>\n The \u00a0decision reflects the regulatory wilderness of Australian energy markets in transition, and the urgent need for continued research in this area. Certainly, the path is tangled, but clearly it\u2019s time for Western Australia to join the mission and start navigating to a sustainable energy future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Renewable energy is undoubtedly a good thing, but economists are warning we should move carefully to avoid negative consequences for those already at a socioeconomic disadvantage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":618,"featured_media":6258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,40],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-6257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-and-global-community","category-technology"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"Â鶹ֱ²¥ the Bankwest Curtin Economic Centre","content":"The warming and cooling demand for gas<\/h2>\n
![\"Graph](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/ShareofEnergyConsumption-1.png\")
<\/a>Sunny side up \u2026 but not for all<\/h2>\n
![\"Graph](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/PVs-socioeconomic-advantage-1.png\")
<\/a>Citizen utilities: \u2018Uber\u2019 energy?<\/h2>\n
![\"Solar](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/pexels-photo-421888.jpeg\")
Lights out for fossil fuels?<\/h2>\n