Name: What is Australia's current decarbonisation progress?
Uploaded: 2024-02-20T03:03:30.633Z
Duration: 407.43
Description: Michael Myer, Executive Chairman of Sunshine Hydro, advocates for bolder renewable energy targets, aiming for 75% to 80% by 2030. He stresses the urgency of faster approval and development of projects like pumped hydro to drive Australia towards a thriving green economy.

Michael Myer export 4 - with watermark.mp4

Michael Myer 5.vtt

Subtitles

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So the legislated

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target of 45% by 2030

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I think is inadequate.

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We would take the view that

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to be in line with science

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we need to be aiming more

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like 75% even 80% by 2030.

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Well at the moment the

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the biggest obstacle is the

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speed at which new renewables

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projects wind and solar at

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a utility scale are getting

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approved and getting built.

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And likewise for deep

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energy storage it's

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the approval pathway.

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Is it fast enough?

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A typical pumped hydro can be

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a decade to get approved, get

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FID and then to get built.

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So we are really falling

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behind in Australia and you

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contrast that with the US

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economy and the inflation

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reduction act and that's

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had an enormous accelerating

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impact on the renewables

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development in the US.

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If you look to what's

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happening in China the scale

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at which renewables are

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being developed and pumped

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hydros are being developed.

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It's much faster.

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So I would, I would say we

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are falling behind, we are

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becoming a laggard and we

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really have to lift our

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game if we're gonna achieve

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the sort of targets, the

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stated targets that both

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the federal government and

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the state governments and

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Australian industry needs.

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Ah that's a very

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good question.

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So the legislated

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target of 45% by 2030

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I think is inadequate.

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We would take the view that

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to be in line with science

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we need to be aiming more

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like 75% even 80% by 2030.

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And you'd have to say at

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the moment we're probably

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behind even on the the

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lower target of 45%.

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And the other point to make

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is that not only are probably

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we're not, we're behind but

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we are not getting the economy

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fit for future industries.

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Things like green steel, green

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aluminium, green fertiliser

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the future industries that

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are gonna underpin the

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manufacturing, you know

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growth of the Australian

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economy leading beyond 2030.

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Well as you'd know there

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are quite a few pumped hydro

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projects in development.

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Snowy two which

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is behind schedule.

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The Queensland government

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have got two named projects

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in particular the Borumba

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and the Pioneer project and

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there are private developers

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as well developing pumped hydro.

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But if you think about the

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requirement, if you look

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at the ISP plan out to 2030

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where they're saying we're

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gonna need double the amount

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of terawatt hours of energy

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in the grid and that's not

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even looking to the super

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power case which says we

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should go to 900 terawatts.

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We're gonna need 9 to

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10 times growth in deep

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energy storage and

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particular in pumped hydro.

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So again we're probably

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behind the target.

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And just by way of reference

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we define deep energy

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storage as 15 hours plus.

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At the moment most of the

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focus in energy storage

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is in the battery space.

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And the battery space really

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is in that 2-4 hour space

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not the deep energy storage.

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I was just listening to one

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of the speakers a moment ago

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from South Australia saying

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yeah they're getting close to

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a hundred percent renewables

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and they might get there

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by 2030, but without deep

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energy storage you're not

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gonna be able to give that

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reliable supply of carbon-free

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energy to industries like

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the aluminium industry, like

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the mining industry, like

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the green steel industry

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like the hydrogen industry.

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So we are gonna need a lot

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more deep energy storage

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than is already targeted

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or projected to be built

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in the next decade.

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So super-hybrid

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is an ecosystem.

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It brings together renewables

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variable renewables, wind

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and solar in particular

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with deep energy storage

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and in particular in the

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form of pumped hydro with

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the production of hydrogen

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and also green methanol.

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So it's bringing together

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known technologies as

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a complete ecosystem.

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And the impact of that when

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you integrate, when you

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think of the wind and solar

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as being additionality.

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So when you're building

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a new wind and new solar

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and integrating it with

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these other assets it

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has a very significant

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and material decarbonizing

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impact across the economy.

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Look using renewable energy

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sustainable energy will

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have an enormous impact

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on the Australian economy.

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We are resource rich in

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renewables, in wind and solar.

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But what we have to do is

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harness that cost effectively.

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We have to be able to then

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use that energy to develop

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the future industries

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like green steel and

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green aluminium, green

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fertiliser green hydrogen.

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We have an enormous

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opportunity in front of us.

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We're at an inflexion point

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in the Australian economy.

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It's the most significant

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inflexion point, probably

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in the last 100 years of

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the Australian economy.

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So the opportunities there in

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front of us and the question

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is whether we as developers

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and whether the politicians

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and the regulators can

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capitalise on the opportunity

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and work together to, to make

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it happen and create this

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future facing economy for

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the whole of the country.

Energy and Battery

Expert Insight

Michael Myer, Executive Chairman of Sunshine Hydro, advocates for bolder renewable energy targets, aiming for 75% to 80% by 2030. He stresses the urgency of faster approval and development of projects like pumped hydro to drive Australia towards a thriving green economy.