Australian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes says he is ready to meet the Prime Minister's energy challenge to supply cheap dispatchable power but he does not want to do it using gas.
Key points:
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison says 1,000 megawatts of new power is needed to keep energy prices low
- Mr Morrison says if the private sector does not have a plan by April 2021, his Government will build a gas-fired plant
- Michael Cannon-Brookes says the Government should put the challenge out to open tender so the private sector can address the challenge with renewable energy
The tech entrepreneur even put a call in to his friend, Tesla founder Elon Musk, on Tuesday night for help.
The two discussed a challenge laid down on Tuesday by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who said the energy industry would need to come up with a way to generate 1,000 megawatts of power or else the Government would pursue a gas-fired power station.
The announcement was part of the Federal Government's gas-led recovery plan for Australia, and Mr Morrison said he was prepared to build the new gas station in the Hunter Valley unless the private sector could come up with another solution before April 2021.
Mr Cannon-Brookes, co-founder of Australian technology firm Atlassian, said he was ready to help meet that challenge if the Prime Minister could explain exactly what the ground rules were.
"All we're asking for is, let us know what you're trying to solve," he told ABC's RN Breakfast
"You need a quote by April? Tell us what you need."
"Don't dictate that the technology solution is gas."
Why does the Government want 1,000 megawatts of power?
The reason new power generation is needed is the scheduled closure of the Liddell coal-fired power station in 2023.
The Federal Government is worried unless it is replaced, there will not be enough dispatchable power being generated and prices could rise.
"We estimate that some 1,000 megawatts of new dispatchable generation is needed to keep prices down," Mr Morrison said during a speech on Tuesday.
"If the energy companies choose to step up and make these investments to create that capacity, great, we will step back. If not, my Government will step up and we will fill the gap."
The Prime Minister said the Government was glad to see cheaper renewable energy entering the market but made the case that gas was needed to ensure cheap, reliable power was available.
Andrew Liveris, special adviser to the Australian National COVID-19 Co-ordination Commission, told RN Breakfast the Prime Minister's announcement reflected some of his recommendations.
"I'm basically saying that we need to transition [to renewables] in an affordable way with reliable energy supply," he said.
Mr Liveris, who is also a deputy chair of engineering company Worley, which supports Saudi oil and gas giant Aramco, said he believed in the need to reach net-zero emissions.
"If renewables could give us 100 per cent reliable energy today, I'd be saying that, but you can't get 100 per cent renewables at the right price on a reliable basis."
But Mr Cannon-Brookes does not agree.
"This intervention will drive up the energy prices for consumers and businesses, not drive them down," he said.
"I talked to Elon overnight. And we certainly have — in three, three and a half years from now, if it needs to be online — there's a lot of other solutions."
Mr Cannon-Brookes said capacity that would be lost with the closure of the Liddell power station was already being replaced by renewables, and the additional capacity needed would probably be much lower than 1,000 megawatts.
Cannon-Brooks wants to meet challenge with renewables
Mr Cannon-Brookes said that with plenty of renewables entering the energy market in NSW in the next few years, there were solutions for ensuring cheap, reliable power while addressing climate change.
One part of it, he said, would certainly be battery storage. As an example of what is possible, he pointed to the Northern Territory Sun Cable scheme he has backed, along with Andrew Forrest and Mr Musk.
But he said other technology would also be part of the solution.
"There are a lot of things around distribution, there are a lot of things about altering transmission, there were a lot of things around virtual power plants and abilities to manage load distribution."
Before he could say definitively what his solution would be, he called on the Prime Minister to put the challenge out to tender so the market had a chance to respond.
"He can call me if he wants, but I don't think that's how tenders should work. I think you should put it out publicly and let anyone see what the terms are."
No comments:
Post a Comment