Gas investments unlock Australia’s future prosperity - The Australian

The Australian reports that gas investments are being positioned as essential to Australia's economic future, with industry and government backing expanded gas infrastructure and supply.

Where this fits

This story sits at the crux of Australia's reliability problem. A renewables-only grid cannot run without either massive overbuild and storage (both expensive) or firm backup power. Gas has become that backup by default, not by choice. The grid needs firm dispatchable generation to cover the gaps when solar and wind cannot supply. Gas is being locked in not because it is optimal, but because Australia has ruled out the one firm, low-emission alternative: nuclear. Each gas investment is a proxy for the firm-power capacity the grid cannot do without, and a sign of the path dependence created by that ban.

What it means

Australia is committing to decades of gas spending to firm a renewables grid, when a single low-emission firm alternative exists and is deployed in peer economies. Gas is not a climate win, though it emits less than coal. The real cost of the renewable transition is being borne by gas lock-in: capital, operational expense, and continued fossil-fuel dependence. That dependence also matters for energy security. A grid held up by imported LNG and domestic gas reserves is less exposed to China than one dependent on battery supply chains, but it is not energy-independent. The honest question Australia is not asking: would a firm, low-carbon, domestically-fuelled nuclear base load, with renewables on top, cost less over thirty years and leave less leverage in a rival's hands?