A year ago, I said how important it was for the energy industry and governments, to work together on our collective ambition to deliver a lower carbon future, without putting at risk energy reliability or affordability. Unfortunately – a year later – we haven’t made enough progress.
And while I remain optimistic, most would agree that our transition has slowed down and we are putting more hurdles up.
No country is immune from this challenge, however here in Australia, it’s proving to be a tale of two systems.
In our remote grids, while there is more to do, there’s momentum with a clear focus on developing the lowest cost of energy and using gas and batteries to firm the build-out of renewables.
Contrast that to our East Coast grid, where we’re seeing the transition slow down through dwindling gas supplies, extending the lives of our coal generation plants, and rising regulatory uncertainty.
The most efficient and effective way to decarbonise Australia’s energy system is to retire coal and diesel, build-out renewables, and support them with domestic gas and other forms of storage like batteries and hydro.
At APA, we see the energy transition through an agnostic lens. We own and develop renewable energy, firming solutions such as batteries and GPG, and gas and electricity transmission assets. We’re also working with our customers on future fuels such as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.
This means we aren’t trying to pick winners. We simply want to work with our customers and communities to bring the energy transition to life.
But to ensure we deliver the transition as efficiently as possible, we need to address the urgent need for new gas supply