Electricity cost study foretells a different energy future

31 July 2012

In releasing the Australian Energy Technology Assessment (AETA) Report and Model this morning, the Executive Director and Chief Economist of the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics, Professor Quentin Grafton, says that “The AETA provides the best available and most up-to-date cost estimates for 40 electricity generation technologies under Australian conditions”.

The AETA was developed in close consultation with WorleyParsons, the Australian Energy Market Operator, CSIRO, and a stakeholder reference group drawn from industry and research/academic organisations with interests and expertise in a diverse range of electricity generation technologies.

Professor Grafton notes that the AETA indicates that “By the mid 2030s some renewable technologies, such as solar photovoltaic and wind onshore, are expected to have the lowest levelised costs of electricity generation of all of the evaluated technologies.”

He further observes that “Among the non-renewable technologies, combined cycle gas (and in later years combined with carbon capture and storage) and nuclear offer the lowest levelised costs of electricity generation over most of the projection period, and remain cost competitive with the lower cost renewable technologies out to 2050.”

In a summary of the study’s findings, Professor Grafton concludes “Australia’s energy future is likely to be very different to the present.” and predicts that “Australia will experience an energy transformation over the coming decades that will have a profound impact for electricity networks, how energy is distributed and on Australia’s ability to meet its targeted greenhouse gas emissions reductions.”

For free downloads of the Australian Energy Technology Assessment that includes the Report and the accompanying model that generates the levelised cost of electricity for each of the technologies and by region, please visit the Energy Publications webpage of www.bree.gov.au.

Media Contact:

For media enquiries, contact Quentin Grafton on 02 6243 7483, or Arif Syed on (02) 6243 7504.