The energy sector will play a crucial role in Australia achieving its national climate goals of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Zero emissions electricity is a critical lynchpin for driving decarbonisation across a wide range of sectors, such as transport, buildings and industry.

As Australia moves towards a net zero energy system, electricity generated by solar and wind technology is set to become our dominant energy source. Solar and wind already comprise 99% of new electricity generation capacity in Australia, and the federal government currently targets renewable energy to account for approximately 82% of Australia’s total energy generation by 2030. However deployment rates of renewable energy, storage and supporting transmission expansion are currently not yet high enough to achieve this target.

For both households and businesses, access to a reliable and secure electricity supply is critically important. While we need to ‘keep the lights on’, the increasingly connected world we live in relies on our ability to access the internet for work and for services such as banking, telehealth, and communications. The growing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) to meet low-emissions transport needs all depend on the maintaining a reliable electricity supply. The electrification of gas loads and increased demand for EV charging are emerging as leading issues for the local distribution grid.

Low-emissions energy generation technologies, including solar and wind, have profoundly different physical, technical, and economic features compared to conventional coal- and gas-fired power plants. The shift to these technologies poses some challenges to the security of existing, traditional power grids. These challenges can all be overcome through adequate planning and operation of the electricity system. Some of these challenges, and their potential solutions, are explored in this report.