One more:10th April 2024"JOURNALIST:[Indistinct] comments on...

One more:10th April 2024

"JOURNALIST:[Indistinct] comments on natural gas today. Do you see natural gas as still being a path forward for this town?

CHRIS BOWEN:Well, gas has got a role to play across the board. It’s got a role to play for the heavy industry while we’re waiting for green hydrogen to come forward. Australia has a very – a great green hydrogen future, but it’s not here yet. Gas also has a very important role to play in underpinning our transition to renewable energy. I mean, we get to 82 per cent renewable energy; that leaves 18 per cent fossil fuels. And the advantage of gas is it’s so flexible – it can turn on and off. That’s very important when you are moving to a very heavily renewable energy system, to have that flexibility of gas-fired power to come in and be turned on at very short notice. Coal fired can’t be turned on and off; it burns through the day, even when they’re losing money, even when we don’t need the power because we have so much renewables, but gas has different advantages. We’re moving to 82 per cent renewables, but gas will still have a role to play in the system."