Gas is no longer a necessary “transitional fuel” and Australia can leap directly to renewables, a new academic report claims, raising questions about the State Government’s energy plan.
http://indaily.com.au/news/local/2017/05/18/gas-no-longer-needed-transitional-fuel-report/
The report by chemical engineers Tim Forcey and Dylan McConnell, of the University of Melbourne, says: “While gas has often been considered a ‘transition fuel’, this pathway is not necessary, and is in fact a detour.”
They argue this is because the major functions of gas in the electricity system – to provide base-load power and manage energy supply/demand fluctuations – can now be provided at a cheaper cost by solar and wind power, and pumped hydro and batteries, respectively.
