Prof Garnaut Lecture Series - Lecture 3: Decarbonising Electricity with Security, Reliability and Lower Costs

Professor Ross Garnaut will deliver a six-part seminar series on the challenges and opportunities of energy transition in Australia. The seminars, which will also be available by webinar, will build the case for the energy transition calling on knowledge of climate science and studies of the economic benefits of mitigation. 

A sectoral analysis - covering in particular the electricity sector, transport and industry, and agriculture - will draw out the economics of technological innovation, the falling costs of renewable energy, and the capacity for sequestration in the land, with insight into the role of the mineral sector in strengthening Australia's position in a low-carbon economy.

Lecture 3: Decarbonising Electricity with Security, Reliability and Lower Costs

There has been a surprising rate of reduction in the costs of solar, wind and storage for electricity. Within this context, this third lecture considers the prospects of a zero carbon Australian electricity sector by 2040 and the implications for electricity prices compared with an electricity sector still heavily dependent on fossil fuels. The Australian electricity sector has the potential to become more secure and reliable with the effective application of new technologies. In particular, Australia’s exceptional advantages in renewable energy resources facilitate a competitive advantage in energy-intensive industry that will be greater in the new low-carbon economy than in the old fossil energy economy. The lecture concludes by considering the problem and costs of policy instability in Australia.

Thank you to event hosts the University of Melbourne, in particular, the Department of Economics in the Faculty of Business and Economics, the Melbourne Energy Institute, the Energy Transition Hub, and the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute.