Fresh research from energy consultancy Reputex shows investment aligned with the NSW renewables road map will provide a cheaper and lower emissions option to replace AGL's ageing Liddell coal fired power plant compared to the business as usual case and the federal government's preferred gas-peaker option.
The NSW renewable road map "green market" scenario, where wind and solar power are backed up by batteries, would generate 17 per cent cheaper electricity and fewer emissions than replacing Liddell with gas, according to the Scenarios for the replacement of the Liddell power station report commissioned by Greenpeace.
The Liddell coal fired power plant. Dominic Lorrimer
The wholesale electricity price under the "green market" scenario by 2026 is $35 megawatts per hour (MWh) versus $42/MWh for the "gas" scenario.
The "green market" scenario modelling is based on attracting investment for 1000MW (1GW) of renewable power on top of the existing "business as usual case" scenario that includes injecting 2600MW (2.6GW) of renewables into the grid by July 2023.
That scenario relies on just a fraction of the NSW renewable energy road map, which aims to attract $32 billion of private investment in NSW infrastructure to build 12 GW of renewable energy and 2GW of storage. The road map drew the ire of the federal government and industry, which demanded to see the as yet-unpublished modelling, but won cross-party support in parliament despite obstructions by One Nation's Mark Latham on Wednesday.