Gas shortfall fears pushed out again as grid battery boom and electrification take fresh bite from demand Electrification and Australia's boom in big batteries have helped to push out forecast gas shortfalls by another year to 2030, AEMO says.

#Electrification and Australia’s boom in big #batteries have helped to push out forecast gas shortfalls by another year to 2030, #AEMO says.

AEMO is a product of the 90s. Its governance needs to reflect the world we're in now AEMO governance review is a rare starting point for big questions about Australia’s energy market institutions. The risk is that it produces incremental tweaks rather than a fundamental rethink.

#AEMO governance review is a rare starting point for big questions about Australia’s #energy market institutions. The risk is that it produces incremental tweaks rather than a fundamental rethink.

Is the market operator's next energy transition plan already out of date? This year’s energy market forecasts feature a particularly large problem that is likely causing headaches for AEMO – and the culprit is residential batteries.

This year’s energy market forecasts feature a particularly large problem that is likely causing headaches for #AEMO – and the culprit is residential #batteries.

AI Data Centres Can Act as Grid Shock Absorbers, UK Trial Shows A UK trial by Nvidia, National Grid and Emerald AI proves AI data centres can cut power by 25% in real time. Here's what it means for Australia's grid.

AI Data Centres Can Act as Grid Shock Absorbers, UK Trial Shows

#AIEnergy #DataCentres #AusEnergy #Nvidia #AEMO #AusNews

thedailyperspective.org/article/2026-03-03-ai-da...

Solar and wind titans reboot push for huge inland renewables zone, as "least-regret pathway" to coal-free NSW A consortium of companies led by Tilt Renewables wants AEMO to factor in a massive, up to 10 GW inland REZ to its 2026 blueprint for the national grid.

A consortium of companies led by Tilt Renewables wants #AEMO to factor in a massive, up to 10 GW inland #REZ to its 2026 blueprint for the national grid.

Friday had a -14c slump at 1.30pm - lots of rooftop solar. They don't predict these & one bad afternoon can blow a week's feed in tarrif.
I've mostly turned off my exports. It's not worth the effort. Most retailers absorb big -ve feed in costs. It's illogical & a failure to plan & regulate #AEMO

"The #AEMO forecasts are included in its latest #GasStatementofOpportunities, an ann forecast of gas demand & supply oppts that usually focuses on the next 10 yrs, but which now looks out 20 yrs to 2045. It was publ on Friday”

”Mass destruction of environ & shareholder value will be the legacy…”

AEMO releases draft 2026 Integrated System Plan The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has published the Draft 2026 Integrated System Plan (ISP) for consultation. Read more.

The Australian Energy Market Operator's Draft 2026 Integrated System Plan (ISP) highlights the crucial need for speed in the transition to renewables. #aemo #renewables #energytransition #netzero

#datacentres #renewables #batterysupply #AEMO #auspol

Aussie AEMO Pushes the Grid Stability Panic Button "... Major uncertainties include ... exit or connection of large loads, dependability of new technologies ... regular or seasonal decommitment of coal units ... changes to exit timing or unexpected plant failure. ..."

Aussie Energy Regulator Demands 5 YEARS Coal Plant Closure Notice The long notice period required to address a "fundamental mismatch" in pace of the energy transition.

🇦🇺 #CSIRO #AEMO #NetZeroAU #FossilFuels #AUSpol

Optimising Battery Storage Trading with AI‑Driven Energy Price Forecasts

Integrating AEMO price forecasts with machine‑learning lifts battery storage trading returns in Australia’s National Electricity Market, beating a baseline model. getnews.me/optimising-battery-stora... #battery #aemo #energymarket

Fully-charged battery By AIDAN KNIGHT ENERGY Minister, Lily D’Ambrosio made the most of ceremony in her visit to the Latrobe Valley on September 4, finishing her trip with the official opening of the new battery energy storage system in Morwell. In partnership with Tilt Renewables, the Minister for the SEC cut the ribbon on a 100 megawatt, 200 megawatt-hour battery which had been under construction for 18 months on the site behind the Hazelwood open cut. The Minister praised the project’s swift conclusions, proclaiming it a pivotal moment in the region’s energy transition, in a “strategic location”. The milestone came against a backdrop of instability in the Valley’s ageing coal fleet, with Yallourn’s Unit 1 tripping that morning and Unit 2 already offline, leaving the plant running at reduced capacity as smoke plumed from the stacks. Tilt merged with the Powering Australian Renewables Fund in 2022, making it the largest private developer and generator of renewable electricity in Australia. Tilt Renewables Chief Executive, Anthony Fowler has described the battery as a valuable addition to the company’s nation-leading portfolio of wind and solar generation. “Together, we’ve built a system that will play a vital role in Australia’s energy transition,” he said. “We’re proud to invest in the Latrobe Valley and contribute to its transformation into a hub for clean energy innovation.” The ribbon cutting took place in the existing Morwell terminal station, as Tilt Chief Development Officer, Laurent Francisci, spoke on how much work the collaborators have put into “this crucial role” of the legislated energy capacity targets put in place by the state government. The goal is to have effective storage of 2.6 gigawatts by 2030, and for that capacity to expand to at least 6.3 gigawatts by 2035, the same year Loy Yang A is slated for closure. “The Latrobe Valley has been the beating heart of Victoria’s energy generation for over a century,” Mr Francisci addressed the crowd. “The Valley became home to major power generation plants. These facilities not only powered homes and industries, they also built communities, trained generations of workers, and forged a proud identity rooted in energy innovation. “Today, as we open this new beast, we stand on the shoulders of that legacy. The Latrobe Valley is once again leading the way, and this time into a cleaner, more sustainable energy future.” Victoria is already the leading state in battery renewables, with 12 large-scale energy storage systems existing or in development around the state. Other areas with storage capabilities comparable to the Morwell’s terminal station are Moorabool (300mw Victorian Big Battery) and Plumpton (600 MW Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub). Those attending may have speculated Ms D’Ambrosio borrowed her speechwriter from the American President, as she began her address with the words, “I love batteries, I love big batteries, I think we all love big batteries.” Execitment: Tilt Chief Devlopment Officer, Laurent Francisci unveils the plaque at the Hazelwood battery station alongside Energy Minister, Lily D’Ambrosio. Photographs: Aidan Knight The Minister had turned the first sod on the very same site in late 2023, and learnt from her previous visit that the best way to win over the locals is to appeal to the sentimentality they have with the industry being the core of their history. “Utilising the infrastructure that has been built up here in the Latrobe Valley over 100 years, optimising the utility of the existing infrastructure, makes a lot of sense. It needs to be and will be a part of the future”, she said. But the fanfare was short-lived. Just a week later, the Minister faced criticism at the Gippsland New Energy Conference, where union leader Andy Smith accused her of neglecting coal power workers directly affected by the transition. “She did what she did and met with who she met with, but didn’t go out to Yallourn, or Loy Yang A or B. I just wonder how difficult it would have been to take an extra hour out of your day and visit some of those power workers (impacted by the transition to renewables). That’s recognition, and that’s what doesn’t happen,” he said. The Express was made aware the Minister also had a window of opportunity between her SEC one stop shop address in Newborough that morning and the Morwell ribbon-cutting two hours later, having cancelled a scheduled visit to a local heat pump manufacturer in between. That pump manufacturer turned out to be Earthworker Energy, whose operations manager, Adam Monument, was seated next to Mr Smith on that very same panel at the new energy conference, only sharpening the reproach. “She doesn’t go where the hard questions will find her,” Mr Smith said of the Minister, and received scattered applause from the audience for this perspective on the transition last week. The Hazelwood project provided a short-term boost to the region’s workforce, with 45 direct and 240 indirect jobs created during construction, and three ongoing roles to support operations. Delivery partners included Fluence, AusNet, AEMO, Zenviron, Wilson Transformers, and local firms such as TwoMorrows Electrical and LAI. The Morwell battery may signal the future of Victoria’s energy system, but as union voices reminded, the path from coal to renewables remains fraught with questions about recognition, jobs, and community in the Latrobe Valley, and these are all at the forefront of the conversation locally.  

LV Express: Fully-charged battery #News #AEMO #AmericanPresident

AEMO puts grid-forming batteries and household devices at centre of roadmap to 100 pct renewables AEMO’s new engineering priorities are on getting most out of grid forming inverters and consumer energy resources at it maps path to 100 per cent renewables.

AEMO says 10 yrs to run Australia’s grid on 100% renewables. Try 5. Rooftop solar already dominates days—grid-forming batteries & VPPs will scale faster than anyone expects to cover night load. Mild days at 100% before 2030? Locked in. The grid’s flipping. ⚡☀️🔋 #AEMO #EnergyTransition #BESS #LFP

#Auspol #RenewableEnergy #TransmissionProjectDelay
#AEMO #VNIWest #VicGrid

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Panel Discussion: Labor's landslide - what’s next for energy and climate policy in Australia?. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Join us for a timely and insightful webinar unpacking the implications of Labor’s decisive election win for Australia’s energy and climate future. Is this business as usual, or the dawn of deeper…

Labor wins big — but is it business as usual or bold reform?
Join our webinar unpacking Australia’s post-election energy future.
Speakers include Matt Kean, Gabrielle Kuiper, and more. Sign up to The Energy. Click below.
#auspol #energytransition #RenewableEnergyAustralia #CleanEnergyPolicy #AEMO

Australia's energy storage forecasts are broken And it could be costly for the transition

ANU energy researchers Harry Armstrong-Thawley and Timothy Weber have run the numbers on pumped hydro and say CSIRO’s GenCost and the AEMO ISP are way off.
theenergy.co/article/aust...
#PumpedHydro #GenCost #AEMO #CSIRO #ANUenergy

Renewables setting NEM wholesale prices more often Mixed market in Q1 highlights energy diversity

Large scale solar and wind generation set the price more often across all NEM regions in the first quarter of 2025 (compared with Q1 2024), according to the Australian Energy Regulator. theenergy.co/article/rene...
#AER #AEMO #AusEnergy

“There is no going back:” AEMO bids goodbye to baseload grid and spins high renewable future AEMO says there is “no going back” to a baseload and peaking power system, but for the moment prefers spinning machines over battery inverters for system security.

Once the bedrock of opposition to 100% renewables, “baseload” is now obsolete. AEMO—the Australian Energy Market Operator—says there’s no going back. The grid’s shifting to renewables, batteries & flexible demand. Coal gone by 2035, gas fading. #AEMO #AusPol #EnergyTransition #Solar #Wind #BESS #LFP

30 years of policy failure has led to #aemo, which is so complicated that nobody understands how it works #renewableenergy #netzero

youtube.com/watch

Seven years for nuclear: Parker By PHILIP HOPKINS   A 1000 megawatt nuclear power station using South Korean expertise could be built in the Latrobe Valley in seven years, with a fleet possibly in 11 years, at an estimated cost of $10 billion each, according to an Australian nuclear expert, Robert Parker. Mr Parker, who spoke on nuclear power last year at the Morwell RSL, was commenting on a report of a nuclear power delegation to South Korea in January in which he participated. Mr Parker was invited on the tour by the Opposition spokesman on Energy, Ted O’Brien. “I paid my own way and received no industry funding,” he said. He emphasised that he is not a member of any political party, but in 2007 he was the endorsed ALP candidate for the NSW state seat of Goulburn. The tour covered meetings with eight South Korean nuclear energy companies, manufacturers and educational institutions. It followed a similar tour in 2018. Mr Parker said Samsung Construction and Trading Corporation estimated a large APR 1400MW nuclear power plant would take seven years to build. Korea Hydro & Electric Power (KHNP), which supplies 32 per cent of the country’s electric power, also estimated a construction time of seven years. “They are looking forward to delivering two APR1000MW units to the Czech Republic – on time and on budget,” he told the Express. “We were advised by KHNP and the Korean contractors that the last few years has been spent on identifying suitable equipment suppliers in the Czech Republic and identifying opportunities for localisation.” Each reactor has six teams with 11 operators per team. Total staffing in each reactor is about 500. Mr Parker told the Express that the Korean bid to the Czech Republic for the APR1000 units cost $US8b each, or $A12b. This was somewhat “gold plated” and included double-walled containment vessels and other localised features, he said. The Korean contract for the 5600MW Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates – four APR1400 nuclear reactors – was $US32b – $US8b each – $A8570/kW, “which is what CSIRO gen cost is reporting”. Barakah, which was built on time and on budget with no liquidated damages, supplies up to 25 per cent of UAE’s electricity needs. Mr Parker said there was a great many factors that affect prices, such as local labour costs, climate and the ability of the selected nation to construct the civil component competitively. “One of the really key issues is finance, which is where the federal government’s role is key to ensuring interest rates are kept low,” he said. Modelling done by Nuclear for Climate Australia on four 1000MW APR1000 units in Latrobe estimated a cost of $A10,000/kW, which is $A40 billion – $1b per 1000MW unit. “How reliable is this cost? On the plus side, the South Koreans have a well-defined supply chain and a reliable technology that works by precedent. Further, the climate in Latrobe is very mild and a full 12 month construction cycle is ensured,” he said. On the downside, Mr Parker said the 1000MW-sized plants would take about the same time to build as their larger 1400MW cousins. “Building larger plants would need more energy transfer capacity between NSW and Victorian in case one plant went offline. So, this is where network planning and optimisation needs to take place,” he said. “The Koreans offered to assist us with a more accurate costs estimates for nuclear power plants in Australia – it’s an offer that should be taken up very promptly. “I estimate that the actual physical construction will take 11 years and employ up to 4000 people on site during that period.” Mr Parker said the Koreans repeatedly stressed the need for achieving social licence. “I formed the opinion that Koreans work far more collaboratively than do Australians – they speak continually of ‘Team Korea’. I wish we had the same ethic in Australia with respect to energy provision. Why do we continue to be polarised on this issue when disciplined collaborative study would largely resolve the issue?” he said. Mr Parker said cooling water provision was another matter that must be addressed in a sober fashion. Nuclear opponents treated it as a ‘gotcha’ issue. “It is resolvable by some innovative solutions,” he said. “Those existing large brown coal pits represent part of the solution.” They could be recharged by ground water and surface water and have a much lower water use than traditional evaporative cooling towers. He noted that both Snowy Hydro 2.0 and the Borumba Pumped Storage in Queensland were integral parts of AEMO’s Integrated System Plans. “Without deep storage, there is no way to transfer huge amounts of energy over days or weeks to address wind droughts,” he said. “Our nuclear option does not need deep storage because it’s teamed with solar and some wind, it does need shorter term four-to-six hour storage for our ‘shoulder’ high-use periods in the mornings and evenings and to enhance grid stability if gas turbines are fully eliminated.” Mr Parker said much was made of seismic risk. “Yes, it must be properly addressed, but in the Australian context was another hurdle created to sow doubt and was a ‘non-issue’ in the large scheme of things,” he said. Hyundai Engineering & Construction, cited in the report, was founded in 1947 and has 14,000 employees. It has been involved in the construction of 26 nuclear power plants and lead contractor at several sites, including four at Barakah. Hyundai’s new growth markets include small modular reactors (SMRs), which are advanced nuclear reactors that have a power capacity of up to 300 MW(e) per unit. Hyundai noted that staffing suitably skilled labour was important. SMRs had a big on-site civil component, possibly proportionally larger than large plants. Samsung C & T is involved in large-scale nuclear power plant construction as well as renewable energy and transmission projects, plus nuclear plants in Korea, UAE and Romania. In Australia it was focussing on renewable energy and ‘green hydrogen’. The report said Samsung has a favourable outlook for nuclear in Australia; 100 per cent renewable energy “is not possible”, baseload power was needed. “Nuclear is the only option for baseload if coal and gas are denied due to emissions constraints,” Samsung noted in the report. Helen Cook said in the report that Australia’s research reactor meets all safety standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency and “we have signed up to necessary protocols”. “Australia has an existing regulator with a long and established international reputation in ARPANSA (Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency).” The report said the former Moon government’s nuclear phase out had created a backlash, according to KHNP. “The public want energy security and industrial progress. Korea has high levels of energy use and industry shipbuilding was badly affected. Nuclear phase out drove up energy prices with increased levels of fuel importation. Nuclear provides price stability and is carbon free,” the report said. KHNP advised that the nuclear fleet will remain under government ownership for energy security and maintenance of safety – “a lesson here for Australia in selling off its coal fleet”, the report noted.

LV Express: Seven years for nuclear: Parker: By PHILIP HOPKINS


 


A 1000 megawatt nuclear power station using South Korean expertise could be built in the Latrobe Valley in seven years, with a fleet possibly in 11 years, at an estimated cost of $10 billion each, according to an… #News #AEMO

Ca #AEMO take note here in Australia?
#gas #renewables #auspol

1/2 #AEMO wants powers to switch off your solar when they want to (via a GSD).

Instead of soaking up cheap power during the day they want to switch it off.

Meanwhile, retailers want to charge you more at night.

Commercial units #QLD >10 kVA (8 kW) must have a GSD, domestic typically exempt, but..

Oui la forêt brûle et les caméras filment ailleurs. #ssiad, #aemo, #mdph, #aesh, #droits etc.

Labor via Clean energy finance gave $1.96B to Abu Dhabi and Canadian owned #Transgrid in cheap loans (1%). #AEMO then mandates a 6% return for that investment.
Labor are underwriting foreign corporations debt while people are homeless, hungry and sick.
Vote the Labor/LNP out
#Estimates

AEMO reports 50GW new renewables in pipeline for NEM The momentum of renewables projects connecting to the National Electricity Market (NEM) continues to build.

The momentum of new renewable energy projects connecting to the National Electricity Market (NEM) continues to build. #renewables #energytransition #NEM #aemo

They may rue this, with their pricing strategies, and the hollowing out of the market for export, has the potential to shift this trend.

6/6

#energy #energytransition #rooftopsolar #aemo #australia #der

Amber Electric

News from #Amber Electric in Australia, acquiring #ChargeHQ, assuming they will integrate both platforms to control both #EV charging, and pricing on wholesale #Energy markets! could it lead to using your car to export to the grid in times of high demand? #AEMO
www.amber.com.au/blog/amber-a...

GenCost: cost of building Australia’s future electricity needs Each year, CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) collaborate with industry stakeholders to update GenCost. This leading economic report estimates the cost of building new electricity ...

“For the seventh year in a row, #renewables have the lowest cost range of any new electricity generation”.

#energy #wind #solar #FossilFuels #nuclear

#CSIRO #AEMO #GenCost #auspol

www.csiro.au/en/research/...