The fastest way out of Australia’s current energy price crisis is to leave fossil fuels behind and supercharge the roll-out of reliable clean energy. 

New wind and solar projects coming online at pace should be combined with a national Renewable Energy Storage Target to ensure we make the right investments now to deliver reliable, secure energy for Australian homes and businesses. 

A Renewable Energy Storage Target would lower emissions and increase the amount of electricity available in the electricity market from renewable sources. It achieves this through a combined regulatory and market based model, similar to the very successful Renewable Energy Target. 

A coalition of energy and climate groups will be at the Australian Parliament on Monday 21 November to back the call for a Renewable Energy Storage Target.

A national target for adding energy storage technology such as batteries and pumped hydro to the grid would incentivise major new investment in firming capacity for renewables. To rapidly cut emissions and reach over 80% renewables by 2030, Australia needs to bring online at least 18 Gigawatts (GW) of firming capacity to back up clean, cheap wind and solar. 

New Climate Council analysis finds a Renewable Energy Storage Target could unlock $42 billion dollars of private investment and create roughly 100,000 jobs in renewable energy. It would do this by adding security and minimising risk for renewable storage investors.

Yet another advantage of the Renewable Energy Storage Target is it makes it easier for states to share cheap, clean energy with one another. For example, Victoria could send cheap solar to Tasmania for pumped hydro during the day, and Tasmania could send back cheap pumped hydro electricity in the evenings. 

Australia’s Federal and State Energy Ministers are in the process of designing a new mechanism to support the stability and reliability of Australia’s energy system in the years ahead. A Renewable Energy Storage Target is a strong alternative to any model that would prop up expensive, unreliable coal and gas – the main drivers of recent energy price spikes for Australian homes and businesses.  

This statement is released with:

Smart Energy Council 

Smart Energy Council is the peak independent body for Australia’s renewable energy and renewable energy storage industry.

Climate Council 

The Climate Council is Australia’s leading community-funded climate change communications organisation. They  provide authoritative, expert and evidence-based advice on climate change to journalists, policymakers, and the wider Australian community.

Clean Energy Investor Group

The Clean Energy Investor Group represents domestic and global renewable energy developers and investors with more than 11 gigawatts of installed renewables capacity across more than 70 power stations and a combined portfolio value of around $24 billion.

Solar Citizens 

Solar Citizens is an independent, community-based organisation bringing together millions of solar owners and supporters to take the next step and keep growing renewables in Australia.

Advanced Materials Battery Council
The Advanced Materials Battery Council enables industry, government and research participants from across the value chain to share, collaborate, and promote opportunities and policies aligned with the rapid development of a successful industry meeting the needs of a zero-carbon future society.