May 2018 // 2-minute read
Australia is expecting to face significant energy challenges in the coming years as the coal power stations retire and the need for investing in renewable energy ramps up.
This challenge also spells opportunity. This means that there will be space for both established companies and new entrants. This includes start-ups keen to capitalise in an industry entering a stage of considerable disruption.
I recently attended an event organised by the Energy Lab @ the Enterprize Tasmania Innovation Hub that aimed at discussing Tasmania’s role in this challenge. The panel – which had representatives from Hydro Tasmania, Aurora Energy, TasNetworks and UTAS – presented the industry’s point of view concerning these changes, and how to explore them to leverage clean energy innovation and entrepreneurship in the state.
The panel discussion
The discussion covered key themes in the sector: asset retirement, generation and transmission infrastructure, new technologies, Electric Vehicles (EVs). The group is pursuing several innovation initiatives through partnerships both in the private and public sectors and academia.
Tasmania has the cleanest electricity grid in Australia and abundant renewable energy resources, including hydro and wind capacity. This makes it perfect to implement and test solutions that will help Australia face its energy challenge.
The discussion was valuable especially for medium-sized businesses and start-ups to understand what the big players in the Tasmanian Energy Sector are working on, the challenges ahead and identifying the opportunities to spawning from these challenges.
This is just the beginning…
The transition in the Australian energy matrix is unprecedented. It will most likely kick off the “growth” stage in the industry life cycle. However, any economic shift means that one side of the economy will strive and the other might suffer. For example, the retirement of several coal power plants does not only mean a decline in the coal-generation sector. This change is likely to affect support processes (and industries) as well. Examples include coal mining, logistics and trade (coal trading) and professional services (specialised workforce).
The debate has just started, but one thing is certain: now is the time to get informed to better understand what the future state might look like, and how to be a part of it.
If you want to know more, here are some additional resources:
- Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) “The changing generation mix explained”,
- 2018 edition of the Australian Energy Resources Assessment (AREA)
- Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) Website and sponsored projects
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