Energy Insiders Podcast: Victoria goes it alone to save renewable transition

Victoria energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio laments “crazy situation” around grid connections, and says Victoria will become the latest state to “go it alone”, introducing new legislation that will allow Victoria to fast-track transmission investment.

“We have got an energy system, a set of rules, that were set in the 1990s, and haven’t budged since then,” D’Ambrosio tells the Energy Insiders podcast.

“We are seeing a dramatic change in the way electricity is produced. We have rules that don’t have the foresight, or don’t allow you to plan ahead to have the transmission where the renewable energy generators will be built.

“We are sick of what happening at federal level. it has been too slow to evolve.”

She pointed to the situation in north west Victoria, where a number of renewable energy projects had been curtailed, and others were uncertain about whether they were going to be able to connect.

“Jüst last week, we had a major investor in Australia who came into the office to express his great frustration, in terms of regulatory barriers, the physical barriers in being not being able to hook up new projects. He was very clear – unless things change, he was going to possibly bypass australia and an investment destination. This is a crazy situation and we can’t allow it to continue.”

Under the first part of the plan, AEMO will test the market for proposals that will allow for an increase in transfer capacity between Victoria and NSW, which could include a big battery rather than a conventional grid upgrade.

See also: Victoria left in the dark over potential bilateral energy deal with Angus Taylor

Also, David Leitch reports back from a key conference in Canberra, where various pathways to 100 per cent renewables were outlined – not just for Australia but for other major economies such as US, Japan and Germany.

You can find previous editions of the Energy Insiders Podcast here, or on your favourite podcast platform.