Australia’s energy grid must triple capacity by 2050 with major increase to wind and solar, Aemo says

The energy market operator says renewable energy, including solar and wind, remains the primary and least-costly path to meeting Australian energy needs. Photograph: Aston Brown/The Guardian

The capacity of Australia’s main electricity grid will need to triple by 2050 – including a fivefold expansion of large-scale wind, solar and storage – under the most likely development path, the national energy market operator says.

The estimate is included in the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) draft “integrated system plan” for the national electricity market, the power grid that connects the five eastern states and the ACT.