On the 15th of July 2022, protesters in tractors took to the street of Ballarat in regional Victoria. They voiced their opposition to the “Western Renewables Link” that would see steel towers and new electrical wires cross their properties. This project aims at transporting electricity produced from renewable sources, from Bulgana, all the way to Melbourne.
It comes as the number of renewable energy installations has grown over the past decades. And the development of renewable energies will continue to have an impact on across Australia, notably on infrastructures. This development is supposed to come in sync with the target of 43% emissions reduction by 2030, as planned by the government. Critics argue that these emission reductions will only be possible at an economical coast, notably in regional Australia. Others underline that this target is not enough to meet the Paris Agreement objectives and limit global warming.
Today, the stated project is to reduce polluting emissions by 43%, based on 2005 levels and before 2030. Between 2005 and 2021, emissions were already reduced by 20%. That is especially due to the planting of trees to compensate carbon emissions.
Therefore, it seems that Australia is on track to reach that 43% objective. But planting trees won’t be enough, as they take years to grow, and this method is already well in motion as opposed to more direct types of emissions reduction. Getting to the root of the problem will mean upgrading and creating new infrastructures, notably to produce, transport and stock renewable energies. The Department of Energy forecasts that by 2030, electricity production will also play a major role in reducing emissions. But how does that play out in concrete term for the people and landscapes of Australia?
Some Australian landscapes will experience change
There is currently a case to include more renewable sources in the energy mix. It is clearly pushed by the Australian government to reach its emission reduction goal. Government agencies such as Infrastructure Australia have to consider this target when assessing new projects. New projects will include the development of solar farm, on the basis that the Australian mainland has the highest solar radiation per square meter. Other renewables come into the mix, notably wind-based ones.
But wind turbines need a sufficient amount of space between them in order to function properly. Therefore increasing the possibility of having to developing large windfarms in order to power communities. And local stakeholders have to be considered as it impacts their landscapes.
In 2009, Acciona Energy proceeded to the construction of the Waubra windfarm in Victoria. In this case, Andrew Greenwood, a local farmer, confirmed that there was indeed a consultation with locals. Although it was short, consisting of a meeting in a communal room, not much advertised. Overall, Mr. Greenwood is fine with the turbines, as they are one kilometre away from his house. But he acknowledges that some of his fellow farmers were not as lucky and complained of the noise, visual impact and degradation of lands, notably aboriginal ones. This comes to show the importance of broad consultations on these projects. Today, Lisa Stiebel from Neoen, a producer of renewable energy in Australia, tells me that her company is involved in “ongoing and participatory” engagement with locals when building projects of the like of wind or solar farms.
And the move to more renewables will require upgrades of infrastructures across the country. Those include very visible ones like poles on wire. According to CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) chief energy economist Paul Graham, there is a need to “build about 10,000 kilometres of new transmission lines over the next decade.” And indeed, the stocking and transportation of renewable energy from remote areas, were large projects have the less community impact, remains a major issue. There is a need for an update of the electrical grid, to avoid problems of congestion on the wires.
More than an upgrade, emission reductions and net-zero by 2050 means new projects. The Federal Government already started to finance these projects, in order to make its goal more likely. Mrs Stiebel, Neoen’s head of Communication confirmed that the Commonwealth has supported some companies project, notably the Hornsdale Power reserve in South Australia. The financial support was made through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) which states that one of its purposes is to further the goal of net zero by 2050. Indeed, the road to the 43% reduction goes through the energy mix and the development of large-scale projects.
And as evidenced by the Energy Minister recent statements, new projects sponsored by the government are on the table. Notably six offshore windfarms in the southern part of the continent, from the New South Wales Coast to the West Australian one. But as those large projects are not without impact, the government is general considering developing large, concentrated, projects. Rather than more smaller ones scattered around the country. The goal is to be efficient when it comes to construction, transportation, and landscape consideration.
Just after the passing of the Climate Bill in the House of Representatives, the Government announced an offshore wind turbine project in the Gippsland region of Victoria. This will contribute to advance the transition of the electricity mix to 82% renewables by 2030, in line with the target of 43% emission reductions.
Those projects are especially interesting because they show us that Australia landscapes will be impacted. Wind energy is especially strong on coastal areas, while solar farms are relevant in sunny inland regions. Closer to home, rooftop solar panels are better with battery storage, which in turn are more cost-effective when common, making them more relevant in densely populated areas. And indeed, decarbonising the economy also mean changes in cities.
Your city will change
Capital cities in Australia will see more Electrical vehicles (EV) and public charging stations by 2030 and 2050. They are a focus of public investments as multiple studies have shown that an EV life-cycle is less polluting than the one of gasoline cars. Today, electric cars are expensive in Australia (minimum $40 000). And the idea that more EVs will contribute to the emission target exists in the mind of the Labour government who plans to introduce incentives to buy those vehicles. Concretely, it means exempting them from import tariffs and the fringe benefits tax. The Electric Vehicle Council estimates that a $50,000 electrical model will be more than $2,000 cheaper as a result of removing the import tariff. The plan for those vehicles also includes a broader charging network, with 117 stations on major highways in Australia.
And there is actually a lot to do on transports. Emissions in this area rose almost without interruption since the 1990’s. The lockdowns concomitant to the pandemic led to the only exceptions. But it certainly didn’t stop transport related emissions to grow compared to the 2005 level. To counterbalance this trend, cities are developing more electric vehicles for public transport. As such, the new Brisbane Metro is one of the many projects flagged a way to reach net zero. It received a finance commitment from the Australian Government notably on the basis that it will make the city greener.
However, some projects aimed at being more discrete. As such, community batteries between a set of households in residential areas are meant to be unnoticeable in order for them not to contrast too strongly with their surroundings. The government plans on building 400 community batteries by 2030. As one of those is the size of a large car and can power circa 250 households, it is expected that 100 000 households will be affected. Therefore, a drastic landscape change is unlikely.
But even if your neighbourhood will not be impacted, your house can contribute to the 43% target.
Your house can also help in an effort to reduce emissions
Indeed, if we consider solar energy, there is a margin for progress in term of energy equipment and reliability for Australian households. Today, 1 in 4 Aussie house is equipped with a rooftop solar, while 1 in 60 has battery storage. This is a real issue in term of reliability as solar, like other renewables, is weather dependent. But as the remaining of households might be reluctant to install solar panels, the government’s plan is to develop “solar banks”. It means that members of a community will be able to commonly buy a medium-scale solar project, directly connected to their home.
While the current government while be pushing more of these projects to reach its announced target of 43% reduction by 2030, it also claims that households will see their bill go down. This energy plan would lead to a reduction of “$275 a year for homes by 2025, compared to today [2022].” The 2021-22 CSIRO-AEMO report states that renewables are the cheapest and greenest source of energy available in Australia (which notably exclude nuclear energy). And there is optimism that it will go cheaper in the years ahead. While the 43% target by 2030 and net-zero by 2050 seem reachable through the offsetting of emissions and energy projects, this promise will have to be hold up to.
Reaching all of these goals will mean an increased effort on energy production and transport, and not just the planting of trees. In fact, infrastructures will have to adapt or even be created. By 2030 and 2050, cities in Australia (especially large urban centres) will have changed due to this target, some landscapes as well, and it will be noticeable. Electricity consumers and homeowner might experience the changes too, notably if they’re willing to add renewables close to home.
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