{"id":18901,"date":"2022-11-16T14:47:52","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T04:47:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/?p=18901"},"modified":"2023-11-28T11:04:09","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T01:04:09","slug":"is-a-fully-renewable-energy-grid-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/is-a-fully-renewable-energy-grid-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"Is a fully renewable energy grid&nbsp;possible?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">Flying power plants, the synchronous condenser, energy inertia\u2026 it\u2019s all sounding a bit magical. You might have missed \u2018Harry Potter and the importance of energy inertia\u2019, but you\u2019re just in time for the final episode of So Watt? season two.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Change is happening across the energy network as Australia moves towards its ambition of net zero. But moving towards an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/an-intelligent-grid\/\">energy grid<\/a> run predominantly on renewables is a massive challenge. It requires big <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/working-towards-a-cleaner-energy-future\/\">investment in renewables<\/a> \u2013 like wind and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/solar\/\">solar<\/a>. And it requires big investment in firming or back-up \u2013 like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/how-large-scale-batteries-support-renewables\/\">battery storage<\/a> and pumped hydro, as well as transmission infrastructure. Gas will also continue to play a vital role for a while in maintaining a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/what-will-the-energy-transition-look-like\/\">reliable energy system<\/a> for Australians.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And this is what we\u2019re exploring in <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2cmDgnbcFRK1kFZWxITSM8?si=4bab4e5d26324f17\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">So Watt? a podcast about energy<\/a> hosted by Dom Fay and Zach Mander from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/zachanddom\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Collective Noun<\/a>. We\u2019re looking at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/what-will-the-energy-transition-look-like\/\">transition to a cleaner energy system<\/a>, powered predominantly by renewables. So, can we get to 100% renewables? Tune into episode six below or read on to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/5b6zzr7aBGYxjKgHljiIg5?utm_source=generator&amp;theme=0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>First up, let\u2019s talk about a major energy source \u2013 gas. It currently provides around 11 Gigawatts of power into the National Electricity Market (NEM). And that\u2019s a lot.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as we <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/why-do-renewables-need-backup\/\">transition to renewables<\/a>, gas remains important for the stability of the grid. In fact, the Australian Energy Market Operator says that in 2050, we\u2019ll still need 10 Gigawatts of gas for firming up renewables.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why gas power stations like Origin\u2019s Quarantine Power Station in South Australia are so important. Quarantine is a peaking power plant and can generate almost 240 Megawatts of power.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is &#8216;firming&#8217; and &#8216;peaking&#8217;?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Peaking power plants turn on and off as the energy grid needs. They\u2019re designed to deal with high demand (or peaks) in the grid and can help to fill gaps in the market from other variable sources, like when the wind stops blowing or the sun stops shining. So, as we <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/what-will-the-energy-transition-look-like\/\">transition to renewables<\/a>, they\u2019ll help to firm up (or stabilise) energy supply to keep the lights on.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s why we need gas turbines that start quickly, like an aeroplane turbine. But they don\u2019t need to take off like a plane\u2026 we certainly don\u2019t need flying power plants. They start and shut down very fast to respond to fluctuations in the energy grid to maintain supply for customers. And this is key to how the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/an-intelligent-grid\/\">grid of the future<\/a> will work.\u202fThat\u2019s why over at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/about\/who-we-are\/what-we-do\/generation\/\">Quarantine Power Station<\/a>, Origin recently upgraded two turbines, which take 5 minutes to turn on and off, compared to older turbines which take around 25 minutes \u2013 a much faster response time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, how will the grid transition to renewables, if there\u2019s variability in the energy output they provide? We need more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/solar\/batteries\/\">battery storage<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/what-is-hydropower\/\">pumped hydro<\/a> to store renewable energy to use later when it\u2019s needed, and for a while longer, we\u2019ll also need gas. These all play vital roles in providing stability in the grid when renewables can\u2019t meet our energy needs.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does it look like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s actually a first-hand example right here in Australia of what a renewable-dominated grid could look like\u2026\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>South Australia has invested heavily in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/solar\/\">solar<\/a>, wind and batteries, with plans to hit 100% renewables by 2030. And in 2021, the state set a national record by running its grid on 100% renewable energy for almost a week. The question is, when can we do that for longer periods of time?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moving to a renewable grid across the whole country won\u2019t be easy. It&#8217;s all about maintaining energy system reliability. Essentially, an electricity grid works on the basis that supply and demand must always be kept in balance.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The other barrier to getting to 100% renewables is infrastructure<strong>. <\/strong>We need a lot more transmission to make sure we can get power from where it\u2019s generated, to where it needs to be used &#8211; bringing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/solar\/\">solar<\/a> and wind electricity from regional locations into cities and connecting Australian states.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, given these challenges, can we actually run the energy grid predominantly on renewables? Yes, it\u2019s possible! As a nation, one of the biggest things we need to do to get there is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/about\/who-we-are\/what-we-do\/development-projects\/\">increase investment<\/a> in all kinds of renewables and firming, like battery storage, and back that up with the transmission infrastructure and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/an-intelligent-grid\/\">smart technology like AI<\/a> to make it all work more efficiently and maintain energy reliability for Australians. And while we\u2019re on that journey, gas-fired peaking plants will continue to provide back-up when needed, particularly over longer durations like days or even weeks &#8211; which is beyond the limits of battery storage technology and pumped hydro today, which usually discharge in a few hours.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can all play a role in the transition to renewable energy. Australian homes, small and big businesses and government can all work together to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/about\/sustainability\/\">reduce carbon emissions<\/a>, support the right <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/about\/who-we-are\/what-we-do\/development-projects\/\">mix of energy sources<\/a> for the future, and reach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/about\/sustainability\/carbon-commitments\/\">net zero by 2050<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/about\/investors-media\/media-centre\/podcasts\/\">Find out more about So Watt?<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Hosts, Zach and Dom from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/zachanddom\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Collective Noun<\/a>\u00a0admit they know nothing about energy \u2013 but not for long! Origin\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2cmDgnbcFRK1kFZWxITSM8\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">So Watt? podcast<\/a>\u00a0questions everything you thought you knew about energy, and explores the solutions that exist today. In season two of So Watt?, go on a journey with Zach and Dom to find out more about\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/what-will-the-energy-transition-look-like\/\">the transition to renewables<\/a>, what changes are already happening and what\u2019s coming up.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So Watt? podcast hosts Zach Mander and Dom Fay explore whether a grid run predominantly on renewables is really&nbsp;possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":18902,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[108],"tags":[45,130,46],"oe_author":[],"class_list":["post-18901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-future-energy","tag-renewable-energy","tag-so-watt","tag-sustainability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18901"},{"taxonomy":"oe_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oe_author?post=18901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}