IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v220y2021ics0360544220327857.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A zero-carbon, reliable and affordable energy future in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Lu, Bin
  • Blakers, Andrew
  • Stocks, Matthew
  • Cheng, Cheng
  • Nadolny, Anna

Abstract

Australia has one of the highest per capita consumption of energy and emissions of greenhouse gases in the world. It is also the global leader in rapid per capita annual deployment of new solar and wind energy, which is causing the country’s emissions to decline. Australia is located at low-moderate latitudes along with three quarters of the world’s population. These factors make the Australian experience globally significant. In this study, a fully decarbonised electricity system is modelled together with complete electrification of heating, transport and industry in Australia leading to an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. An energy supply-demand balance is simulated based on long-term (10 years), high-resolution (half-hourly) meteorological and energy demand data. A significant feature of this model is that short-term off-river energy storage and distributed energy storage are utilised to support the large-scale integration of variable solar and wind energy. The results show that high levels of energy reliability and affordability can be effectively achieved through a synergy of flexible energy sources; interconnection of electricity grids over large areas; response from demand-side participation; and mass energy storage. This strategy could be a rapid and generic pathway towards zero-carbon energy futures within the Sunbelt.

Suggested Citation

  • Lu, Bin & Blakers, Andrew & Stocks, Matthew & Cheng, Cheng & Nadolny, Anna, 2021. "A zero-carbon, reliable and affordable energy future in Australia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:220:y:2021:i:c:s0360544220327857
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.119678
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544220327857
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2020.119678?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dmitrii Bogdanov & Javier Farfan & Kristina Sadovskaia & Arman Aghahosseini & Michael Child & Ashish Gulagi & Ayobami Solomon Oyewo & Larissa Souza Noel Simas Barbosa & Christian Breyer, 2019. "Radical transformation pathway towards sustainable electricity via evolutionary steps," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Connolly, D. & Lund, H. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2016. "Smart Energy Europe: The technical and economic impact of one potential 100% renewable energy scenario for the European Union," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1634-1653.
    3. Lu, Bin & Stocks, Matthew & Blakers, Andrew & Anderson, Kirsten, 2018. "Geographic information system algorithms to locate prospective sites for pumped hydro energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 300-312.
    4. Popp, J. & Lakner, Z. & Harangi-Rákos, M. & Fári, M., 2014. "The effect of bioenergy expansion: Food, energy, and environment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 559-578.
    5. Lu, Bin & Blakers, Andrew & Stocks, Matthew, 2017. "90–100% renewable electricity for the South West Interconnected System of Western Australia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 663-674.
    6. David E. H. J. Gernaat & Patrick W. Bogaart & Detlef P. van Vuuren & Hester Biemans & Robin Niessink, 2017. "High-resolution assessment of global technical and economic hydropower potential," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 2(10), pages 821-828, October.
    7. Blakers, Andrew & Lu, Bin & Stocks, Matthew, 2017. "100% renewable electricity in Australia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 471-482.
    8. Lund, Henrik & Østergaard, Poul Alberg & Connolly, David & Mathiesen, Brian Vad, 2017. "Smart energy and smart energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 556-565.
    9. Hansen, Kenneth & Breyer, Christian & Lund, Henrik, 2019. "Status and perspectives on 100% renewable energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 471-480.
    10. Uddin, Kotub & Jackson, Tim & Widanage, Widanalage D. & Chouchelamane, Gael & Jennings, Paul A. & Marco, James, 2017. "On the possibility of extending the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries through optimal V2G facilitated by an integrated vehicle and smart-grid system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 710-722.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bojana Škrbić & Željko Đurišić, 2023. "Novel Planning Methodology for Spatially Optimized RES Development Which Minimizes Flexibility Requirements for Their Integration into the Power System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-34, April.
    2. David Firnando Silalahi & Andrew Blakers & Bin Lu & Cheng Cheng, 2022. "Indonesia’s Vast Off-River Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Potential," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Uddin, Moslem & Mo, Huadong & Dong, Daoyi & Elsawah, Sondoss, 2023. "Techno-economic potential of multi-energy community microgrid: The perspective of Australia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(P2).
    4. Khan, Anwar & Min, Jialin & Hassan Shah, Wasi Ul & Li, Qianwen & Sun, Chuanwang, 2024. "Efficacy of CO2 emission reduction strategies by countries pursuing energy efficiency, nuclear power, and renewable electricity," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    5. Lu, Bin & Blakers, Andrew & Stocks, Matthew & Do, Thang Nam, 2021. "Low-cost, low-emission 100% renewable electricity in Southeast Asia supported by pumped hydro storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    6. Gilmore, Nicholas & Koskinen, Ilpo & van Gennip, Domenique & Paget, Greta & Burr, Patrick A. & Obbard, Edward G. & Daiyan, Rahman & Sproul, Alistair & Kay, Merlinde & Lennon, Alison & Konstantinou, Ge, 2022. "Clean energy futures: An Australian based foresight study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    7. David Firnando Silalahi & Andrew Blakers & Matthew Stocks & Bin Lu & Cheng Cheng & Liam Hayes, 2021. "Indonesia’s Vast Solar Energy Potential," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-24, August.
    8. Nadolny, Anna & Cheng, Cheng & Lu, Bin & Blakers, Andrew & Stocks, Matthew, 2022. "Fully electrified land transport in 100% renewable electricity networks dominated by variable generation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 562-577.
    9. Bhattacharya, Subhadip & Banerjee, Rangan & Ramadesigan, Venkatasailanathan & Liebman, Ariel & Dargaville, Roger, 2024. "Bending the emission curve ― The role of renewables and nuclear power in achieving a net-zero power system in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PA).
    10. Burke, Paul J. & Beck, Fiona J. & Aisbett, Emma & Baldwin, Kenneth G.H. & Stocks, Matthew & Pye, John & Venkataraman, Mahesh & Hunt, Janet & Bai, Xuemei, 2022. "Contributing to regional decarbonization: Australia's potential to supply zero-carbon commodities to the Asia-Pacific," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    11. Chu, Shunzhou & Sethuvenkatraman, Subbu & Goldsworthy, Mark & Yuan, Guofeng, 2022. "Techno-economic assessment of solar assisted precinct level heating systems with seasonal heat storage for Australian cities," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P1), pages 841-853.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lu, Bin & Blakers, Andrew & Stocks, Matthew & Do, Thang Nam, 2021. "Low-cost, low-emission 100% renewable electricity in Southeast Asia supported by pumped hydro storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    2. Hansen, Kenneth & Breyer, Christian & Lund, Henrik, 2019. "Status and perspectives on 100% renewable energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 471-480.
    3. Osorio-Aravena, Juan Carlos & Aghahosseini, Arman & Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Caldera, Upeksha & Ghorbani, Narges & Mensah, Theophilus Nii Odai & Haas, Jannik & Muñoz-Cerón, Emilio & Breyer, Christian, 2023. "Synergies of electrical and sectoral integration: Analysing geographical multi-node scenarios with sector coupling variations for a transition towards a fully renewables-based energy system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    4. Diesendorf, M. & Wiedmann, T., 2020. "Implications of Trends in Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROI) for Transitioning to Renewable Electricity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    5. Oyewo, Ayobami Solomon & Solomon, A.A. & Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Aghahosseini, Arman & Mensah, Theophilus Nii Odai & Ram, Manish & Breyer, Christian, 2021. "Just transition towards defossilised energy systems for developing economies: A case study of Ethiopia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 346-365.
    6. Lund, Henrik & Thellufsen, Jakob Zinck & Sorknæs, Peter & Mathiesen, Brian Vad & Chang, Miguel & Madsen, Poul Thøis & Kany, Mikkel Strunge & Skov, Iva Ridjan, 2022. "Smart energy Denmark. A consistent and detailed strategy for a fully decarbonized society," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    7. Muhammad Amir Raza & Muhammad Mohsin Aman & Altaf Hussain Rajpar & Mohamed Bashir Ali Bashir & Touqeer Ahmed Jumani, 2022. "Towards Achieving 100% Renewable Energy Supply for Sustainable Climate Change in Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-23, December.
    8. Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Toktarova, Alla & Breyer, Christian, 2019. "Transition towards 100% renewable power and heat supply for energy intensive economies and severe continental climate conditions: Case for Kazakhstan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    9. Maruf, Md. Nasimul Islam, 2021. "Open model-based analysis of a 100% renewable and sector-coupled energy system–The case of Germany in 2050," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    10. Nzotcha, Urbain & Kenfack, Joseph & Blanche Manjia, Marceline, 2019. "Integrated multi-criteria decision making methodology for pumped hydro-energy storage plant site selection from a sustainable development perspective with an application," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 930-947.
    11. Pastore, Lorenzo Mario & Lo Basso, Gianluigi & Sforzini, Matteo & de Santoli, Livio, 2022. "Technical, economic and environmental issues related to electrolysers capacity targets according to the Italian Hydrogen Strategy: A critical analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    12. Haas, Jannik & Prieto-Miranda, Luis & Ghorbani, Narges & Breyer, Christian, 2022. "Revisiting the potential of pumped-hydro energy storage: A method to detect economically attractive sites," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 182-193.
    13. Papadis, Elisa & Tsatsaronis, George, 2020. "Challenges in the decarbonization of the energy sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    14. Chang, Miguel & Thellufsen, Jakob Zink & Zakeri, Behnam & Pickering, Bryn & Pfenninger, Stefan & Lund, Henrik & Østergaard, Poul Alberg, 2021. "Trends in tools and approaches for modelling the energy transition," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    15. Hansen, Kenneth & Mathiesen, Brian Vad & Skov, Iva Ridjan, 2019. "Full energy system transition towards 100% renewable energy in Germany in 2050," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1-13.
    16. Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Ram, Manish & Aghahosseini, Arman & Gulagi, Ashish & Oyewo, Ayobami Solomon & Child, Michael & Caldera, Upeksha & Sadovskaia, Kristina & Farfan, Javier & De Souza Noel Simas Barbos, 2021. "Low-cost renewable electricity as the key driver of the global energy transition towards sustainability," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    17. Lopez, Gabriel & Aghahosseini, Arman & Child, Michael & Khalili, Siavash & Fasihi, Mahdi & Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Breyer, Christian, 2022. "Impacts of model structure, framework, and flexibility on perspectives of 100% renewable energy transition decision-making," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    18. Gulagi, Ashish & Ram, Manish & Solomon, A.A. & Khan, Musharof & Breyer, Christian, 2020. "Current energy policies and possible transition scenarios adopting renewable energy: A case study for Bangladesh," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 899-920.
    19. Pastore, Lorenzo Mario & Groppi, Daniele & Feijoo, Felipe & Lo Basso, Gianluigi & Astiaso Garcia, Davide & de Santoli, Livio, 2024. "Optimal decarbonisation pathways for the Italian energy system: Modelling a long-term energy transition to achieve zero emission by 2050," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 367(C).
    20. ElSayed, Mai & Aghahosseini, Arman & Breyer, Christian, 2023. "High cost of slow energy transitions for emerging countries: On the case of Egypt's pathway options," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 107-126.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:220:y:2021:i:c:s0360544220327857. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.