Explaining how gas storage and gas-powered generation is supporting the roll out of renewables and securing Australia’s energy future.

There’s been a shift in the way that gas is being discussed in Australia. Just a few years ago, many predicted gas stepping aside as Australia looked to renewable energy.

But recently that language has changed and it’s increasingly clear that gas is central role to energy security and a key enabler of the energy transition. ‘Renewables backed by gas’ is widely acknowledged as the credible pathway towards reaching our emissions reduction targets.

AEMO’s most recent Integrated Systems Plan¹ states this in clear terms:

As Australia’s energy transition progresses, APA is ideally placed to play a key role in providing the energy infrastructure Australia needs for a reliable, affordable and lower emissions energy future.

To understand how we deliver this, and the role gas storage and gas-powered generation will play, we must first look at the fundamental realities of the grid.

As a modern, industrialised and prosperous country, Australian homes, cities and industry need an abundance of energy. We cannot accept a future where energy use must be managed due to limitations in supply.

Our modern electricity system is based on balancing the supply and the demand at every single second of every single day. Renewable energy by its nature is an intermittent supply. In those periods of time where wind and solar aren’t available, you need to have something to provide that electricity.

Coal – which for so long has been the backbone of our energy system – is winding down. Many of these facilities are beyond 30 years old and becoming increasingly unreliable. Quite simply, they are approaching the end of their life.

It is nothing short of a massive task to transition away from coal over the years ahead. Given the practical realities of a renewables-first energy grid, this is where gas comes in.

Understanding these realities leads us directly to the practical challenges of a renewables-first energy grid.

Delivering the deep energy storage needed

In the final quarter of 2025, renewable energy supplied more than half of the National Electricity Market’s total energy needs for the first time².  But equally, underlying demand for power also hit record highs in the final quarter of the year³.

The surge in renewable energy generation marked a significant milestone for Australia’s energy transition but also underscored the need to ensure firming capacity is available to step in when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.

Battery storage can and will increasingly help to manage the evening peaks and short duration droughts. Battery capacity in the NEM has more than doubled over the last 12 months, shifting energy from daylight hours to meet evening demand peaks⁴.

The challenge is how we can we manage through major outages or extended renewable droughts. Coal stations can’t ramp their load quickly enough to step in and can’t operate at very low minimum loads. Batteries don’t provide the storage needed to deliver energy over days and weeks. This is the role that gas storage and GPG will play.

Recent experiences in South Australia brings this to life. Across almost a week in late June, South Australia was hit with its worst wind drought in seven years, generating at less than 5 per cent of their capacity over a four-day period. Batteries stepped in and discharged to support the grid but couldn’t deliver over a long period to meet demand. It was gas storage and GPG that fired to life to keep South Australian lights on.

It’s the role that many of APA’s existing assets are already playing in energy security nationally. In Western Australia, our Mondarra Gas Storage Facility stores enough gas to generate electricity for approximately 785,000 homes in the South West for 35 consecutive days⁵. Similarly, the Kurri Kurri Lateral Pipeline provides high-pressure storage capable of holding 70 terajoules of gas, ensuring GPG is available in the Hunter to deploy firm, reliable electricity to the grid the moment it is required.

In addition to its firming role, GPG also plays a crucial role in grid stability. Historically, grid stability came from the physical inertia of heavy, spinning steam turbine generators of the large coal fired power stations. Being inverter-based, renewables don’t provide the same levels of physical inertia, whereas GPG is a synchronous technology that provides this naturally. Without it, we have to look at installing synchronous condensers – huge, expensive rotating machines that provide the inertia but don’t actually generate any power.

Dispatchable gas power

As we head towards a gas-supported energy transition, APA is working with customers on other new projects, such as the Brigalow Peaking Power Plant in Queensland.

CS Energy, a Queensland Government-owned energy company, is introducing flexible, fast-start firming capacity to support the state's rapid renewable energy expansion. APA is partnering with CS Energy to progress the project. When completed, CS Energy will operate the facility. The project also includes a gas pipeline lateral connecting the plant to the Roma Brisbane Pipeline, showcasing APA’s broader role transporting gas to support power generation.  

For 25 years, APA has been securing Australia’s energy future. Our strategic advantage is our capacity to build, own, and maintain the long-life infrastructure essential to Australia’s energy future. As the energy transition continues, we will continue to leverage our financial strength, the expertise of our people and existing infrastructure position to support our customers with the solutions they need to drive energy security and transition.

¹ AEMO, 2026 Integrated System Plan (ISP), page 6

² AEMO, Renewables supply more than half of quarterly energy supply

³ AEMO, Quarterly Energy Dynamics Q4 2025, January 2026

⁴ AEMO, Quarterly Energy Dynamics Q2 2026, July 2026

⁵ APA Grup, Big Batteries in Collie are not Western Australia's only energy insurance policy

⁶ AEMO, Gas market outlook signals need for new investment