Almost 13 gigawatts of new wind and solar projects flagged to propel state way beyond 100 pct net renewables - Renew Economy

Almost 13 gigawatts of new wind and solar capacity has been flagged for development in an Australian state, expected to push renewable generation well past 100 per cent of annual electricity demand on a net basis. The projects represent continued momentum in the build-out of variable renewable capacity across the National Electricity Market.

Where this fits

This is a headline about capacity, not about firm power or grid stability. A state running on 100 per cent net renewables annually still requires either gas generation or storage to manage hours when wind and solar are not producing. The 13 GW figure masks two problems: first, the need for matching firming capacity and transmission to move that power when weather permits, adding whole-system cost well beyond the per-megawatt-hour cost of the panels and turbines themselves. Second, the supply chain. Panels, inverters, and batteries are manufactured in China and Asia on the back of coal-fired electricity, embedding emissions and locking Australia into dependence on a strategic rival for the energy transition itself. That dependence grows with each new gigawatt added, and it grows faster than domestic battery or semiconductor manufacturing can close it.

What it means

A 13 GW wind and solar program will require gigawatts of gas peaking plant to run alongside it, or multi-day battery storage at scale, neither of which reduces the headline's supply-chain dependence or materially improves grid resilience to geopolitical pressure. Australia is building a renewable grid that works only when reinforced by fossil gas or by critical materials sourced from Beijing. The alternative, firm, energy-dense nuclear generation, with a 60-year operational life and no weather dependency, remains illegal. Each gigawatt of new renewables without firming is another data point in the pattern: cheaper panels, costlier whole-system outcome, deeper strategic dependence.