CANBERRA, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Australia's total electricity generation and storage capacity will need to triple by 2050 in order to keep up with demand, according to a report published by the energy market operator on Wednesday.
The Australian Energy Market Operator on Wednesday released the draft version of the 2026 Integrated System Plan (ISP), projecting that total electricity generation and storage capacity will need to increase from 92 gigawatts (GW) currently to 190 GW by 2035 and 297 GW by 2050.
The ISP, a roadmap for the least-cost and efficient development of the National Electricity Market that is updated every two years, projected that grid-scale wind and solar generation capacity will increase five-fold from 23 GW currently to 120 GW in 2050.
In the same time frame, electricity storage capacity, including batteries, virtual power plants and pumped hydro, is projected to increase from 12 GW to 55 GW, and the total generation capacity of distributed solar photovoltaic such as rooftop systems is expected to increase from 25 GW to 87 GW.
The report said that around 6,000 kilometers of new transmission lines will be needed by 2050, representing an about 13.6 percent extension of the current network.
It estimated the annualized capital cost through 2050 for grid-scale generation, storage, transmission and distribution at 128 billion Australian dollars (about 85 billion U.S. dollars) under the least-cost optimal development path.
Transmission investments of around 9 billion Australian dollars would save consumers an additional 22 billion Australian dollars in avoided costs and deliver emissions reductions valued at 2 billion Australian dollars, the report said.
It projected that the generation capacity of Australia's fleet of coal-fired power stations will decline from 21 GW currently to 7 GW by 2035 and 0 GW by 2050. Enditem
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