Australia has pledged to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 43% and increase the share of renewable power generation in the country’s National Electricity Market to 82% by 2030, as part of plans to emerge as a renewables superpower and cater to the needs of South Asian countries. However, the country needs to formalize these targets into policy at the earliest to achieve them, states GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s report, “Australia Power Market Size, Trends, Regulations, Competitive Landscape and Forecast, 2022-2035,” reveals that the first step towards becoming a renewables superpower is to overcome its dependency on thermal power generation. In 2021, thermal power accounted for 73% of the country’s annual power generation. Australia plans to stop building new coal and gas power plants and phase out coal-based power generation by 2030.

Attaurrahman Ojindaram Saibasan, Power Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The country should look to expedite large scale renewable power projects to compensate for the retirement of thermal-power plants. In addition, Australia needs to build a robust EV infrastructure and electrify its heating systems to replace gas-based heating systems.

“Australia is an island nation and does not have any cross-border interconnections or subsea cables linking it with other countries. It does not import or export electricity but is able to meet its electricity requirements independently.”

The country aims to export renewable power and is already in talks for an interconnection line with Singapore. It is expected that Australia’s renewable electricity exports will cater to 15% of Singapore’s electricity requirements.

Saibasan concludes: “At the current pace, renewables will account only for just 58.6% of the total power generation in Australia in 2035. The country should move away from fossil fuels for its electricity needs. Australia will require substantial investments to achieve its goal of being a renewables superpower. The country should strive to create a favourable environment to attract private and foreign investors. It should adapt latest technologies and aim to improve the efficiency of its renewable power plants.”