Aussie Government plans an ambitious 30 minutes of battery capacity to stabilise the grid.
Albanese government substantially expands renewable energy scheme amid 2030 target concerns
Chris Bowen says Labor will increase size of its main climate and energy program by 25% to capitalise on falling cost of solar panels and batteries
Adam Morton Climate and environment editorTue 29 Jul 2025 12.26 AEST
The Australian government will substantially expand a renewable energy underwriting scheme as it aims to capitalise on the falling cost of solar panels and batteries and combat concerns it may struggle to meet its 2030 climate target.
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the government would increase the size of its main climate and energy program – known as the capacity investment scheme – by 25%.
It means Labor plans to underwrite the construction of 40 gigawatts of large-scale solar, wind and storage by the end of the decade. In capacity terms, this is nearly twice as much energy infrastructure as the country’s existing coal-fired power fleet.
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He announced the government would add 5GW of dispatchable capacity, which typically means large-scale batteries and 3GW of large-scale wind and solar generation to its underwriting program. In total, the government has promised to underwrite 26GW of generation and 14GW of storage or clean dispatchable capacity that can be called on when needed.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jul/29/australia-expands-renewable-energy-scheme-2030-target
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None of this comes close to meeting Australia’s energy needs. 14GW of “storage or clean dispatchable capacity” covers half of Australia’s 35GW of peak demand. When a 35GW peak occurs during one of our wind droughts, and there is only 14GW of storage while demand shoots up to 35GW, after a few minutes the electricity will fail.
But what else would you expect from the engineering dyslexics who currently run Australia?
Of course even the Bowen / Albanese government will soon realise they have to continue playing the green hypocrisy game even with this additional capacity, and splurge taxpayer’s money on paying for a second set of real dispatchable power to remain on hot standby. Ready to step in when the fake renewable power system fails us.
The saddest part of this, by hamstringing Australian energy like this, we have no hope of participating in the AI revolution, except by proxy using AI installations located in other nations. Australia is stumbling and falling right at the start of the game due to our own national stupidity. But fumbling the ball has been our thing for at least the last half century.
That is possibly why Australian politicians
are so into gun confiscation.
They are also pushing for speed limits of zero through playground zones.
Based on a general principle “reduced speed reduces accidents” that made a good campaign slogan.
/s
No, this is NOT so. This Australia we are talking about, not a pale imitation of the USA. Keep your comments about Australian energy, Seppo.
“Seppo”
AI search: “Additionally, “Seppo” is a slang term for Americans.”
You learn something new everyday around here.
Good old crim vernacular, Bruce.
The Australian Labour Party seems
like the California or New York Democratic Party. In all cases, channeling the French Bourbons in never learning and never forgetting.
Yeah, this is Australia we’re talking about, where the law protects criminals more than innocent victims.
Yep, you get in real trouble in Australia for shooting a home invader, worse than New York.
And none of this helps the need for rotating inertia to stabilise the grid in a dynamic sense to provide the time needed to load shed in the face of failure of some part of the network equipment
Well at least the government members have agreed to fund this from their own money and not risk the taxpayers funds.
/s of course.
You leave out ongoing maintenance costs which someone has to pay and that is either the Australian tax payer or the Australian consumer.
But there is no real evidence that CO2 has any effect on our global climate system. There is plenty of scieitific rational to support the conclusion that the climate sensivity of CO2 is effectively zero. The AGW hypothesis has been falsified by science. Mankind does not even know what the optimal global climate astually is let alone how to achaive it. World wide trillions of dollars have been spent trying to fight climate change yet no one is saying that there has been any imporovement in the climate. Spending moeny trying to fight climate change is just a big waste of funds.
Worse, there is no evidence that “taking action” and “fighting climate change” even works. I haven’t seen any reduction in atmospheric CO2 for 40 years. Have you?
Australia and the UK are both spinning their wheels when it comes to dealing with CO2.
What do they have in common?
Answer: They are both “led” by stupid, extreme, delusional leftwing ideologues.
Instead of recognizing they are going down the wrong road (Net Zero), they double down on stupid. It’s what people do when they don’t want to admit to themselves, or others, that they are wrong.
Oh, but they’ll say ‘we just haven’t spent enough yet’.
And not a single GWh in sight, still. Why is actual capacity never addressed?
Because GW makes batteries look like generators. The quotes above are full of that deception/confusion.
Agreed, that is one (of many} pet peeves of mine. GW doesn’t tell us about the ability of a storage or generating system to deliver actual energy during a dunkelflaute.
No need to use correct units. There is no guarantee that the battery will be in the required state of charge when needed anyway. Whether for supply or storage.
The elephant in the room is manufacturing… we don’t make anything any more because we lack the energy to make it and have become too reliant on imports. Its killing our economy.
Killed past tense, the whole Australian economy is propped up by mining exports.
And a lot of those exports are coal to be used productively in other countries.
In ‘Ye Olde Days’ it was wool.
Your country is run by leftists/marxists, what do you expect will result? I’m sure you don’t vote for them, but your friends, neighbors, relatives do.
To think storing water is the same thing as storing electricity puts your science illiteracy on display.
Yes, batteries are not full of electricity, they are full of dangerous chemicals. This is never ever said.
There are no extra electrons stored in a charged battery compared to a flat battery.
Let’s see Bowen explain this little detail.
And then the laughter started.
Ah, but…
Electricity isn’t actually electrons, is it? It’s electrons moving….
This is so stupid, I don’t see how people like this continue to be elected. This is equivalent to buying a ticket for the Titanic on April 16 1912. Morons.
Well, if we don’t vote for these morons, the wrong morons might get in!
(h/t to Douglas Adams)
The problem is that, unfortunately, we still have it good enough here in Australia that not enough people are willing to fight back by voting for another decent party. Hopefully they will wake up once the blackouts start…
14GW of storage… What an ignorant comment
That 14GW is available for what? 20 minutes maximum.. maybe ?!
Albo, you ignorant moron… storage is measure in GWh !!
And to last any length of time we would need a couple of magnitudes more storage capacity.
More storage AND more reliable sources to CHARGE the batteries.
Midday-ish and Victoria is running on 74% BROWN COAL, also exporting to help out SA and NSW
Forecast will probably be similar or more as the cold overcast rainy weather persists.
Thank goodness we still have, just barely, enough COAL and GAS to keep the heating and lights on…
.. because wind and solar electricity are likely going to be hard to find over the next few days.
It is not the politicians alone. This whole scam is being perpetuated by the CSIRO and AEMO. You need look no further than this week’s GenCost report to identify how screwed Australia really is. This is the executive summary:
Read the Executive Summary PDF (726 KB)
They conclude:
Australia is now leading the world in removing any hope of ever having a viable manufacturing industry again.
Long ago, I recognised that I could make electricity at lower cost with my own solar and battery than any interconnected grid ever could rising the same technology. I have enjoyed zero cost electricity now for 14 years after making an initial capital investment. Most rooftop owners in Australia can do the same thing and many are. It is highly regressive.arrangement that benefits those who can afford their own roof while savagely burdening those who cannot afford a roof and the heavy industry that thrives on steady, reliable 24/7 power supply..
Australia was one of the early suppliers of drones to Ukraine. They were made from cardboard, possibly manufactured in Australia and powered by Chinese components. That is the limit of Australia’s manufacturing capacity.
Minimal “initial capital investment”
Is it necessary to go 100% PV/batteries for the expected maximum load? Or just enough to get through an emergency?
Two 40W PV panels, and a 115 AHr RV battery. Ran the 12 VDC into the house close to the kitchen. Had a multi-band radio and a ‘police’ scanner for entertainment, a 15W light on the ceiling, a 120 W inverter for a 30 W fluorescent lamp, and I’ll admit, a caravan (travel trailer) outside the door – propane for cooking, and refrigeration if it became necessary. A wood burning stove. Twenty eight hours without ‘grid’ power during an ice storm, southern california desert.
The ‘fun’ part, listening to San Bernardino County Deputy Sheriffs calling Dispatch, “Where can I get chains installed in Yucca Valley?” It was a Sunday morning, nothing was open.
“I have enjoyed zero cost electricity now for 14 years after making an initial capital investment.”
So, you have no clue as to what cost accounting is.
If only we could deport Mad Ed to Australia…
Hey we have our quota… 🙂
We have a surplus!
That’s the problem.
No mate, the problem is dumbfeks like you in positions of power you should have been kept miles away from.
Bowen does not know the difference between GWh and GW and clearly does not want to learn. The next 4 early mornings could be interesting for variable renewable energy in Oz. Light winds predicted in many places in the SE part of the country
Off topic….
Recently, the estimable Mr Nick Stokes insisted the British economy is growing at a fast pace, in the face of all the evidence, and a booming economy can pay for cheap renewables, batteries etc.
The latest news does not match that rosy upbeat assessment…
“British business is heading for its worst quarter since the dark days of the pandemic in 2020, with private sector activity expected to tumble to -18% in the three months to September, according to the latest numbers from the Confederation of British Industry.
It comes off the back of a bruising summer, with activity already having fallen to -26% in the three months to June. Activity has broadly been falling since the ‘growth’ budget…
https://order-order.com/2025/07/30/business-activity-falling-at-fastest-pace-since-pandemic/
If you’re out there, Nick, what say you?
The man is totally deranged, a clear and present danger to Australia.
The voters put him in office. When the pitchforks and torches are brought out, the voters can choose a different path. Sadly, there will be much suffering in the interim.
“The Australian government will substantially expand a renewable energy underwriting scheme as it aims to capitalise on the falling cost of solar panels and batteries…”
As if- even if the panels and windmills were dropping in price- that doesn’t mean the long term cost for electricity will be cheaper given that they’ll have to be replaced all too soon and the need for backup, batteries, expenses on the grid, etc. If that was so great why doesn’t China and India only install wind and solar?
Even if they are free, with free installation labor, their performance is disappointing after sunset when you need light. Possibly a good match for your Air Conditioner load on a hot sunny afternoon if you install quite large panels.
Actually, solar output declines rapidly in the later afternoon when A/C is needed. Output is high 2 hours before and after noon.
Shovelling taxpayer money to his mates and the slick subsidy miners-
‘Can’t make a legitimate buck’: Renewable projects dependent on government subsidies
Oh well… Anyway.
After seeing what Australia did during covid, I have zero interest in visiting that country (let alone the flight to get there). Authoritarian nightmare.