Delays with the construction of the Hunter Power Project at Kurri have heightened the risk of potential lapses in a reliable power supply following the closure of Liddell next month, Australia's energy market operator has warned.
In an updated Electricity Statement of Opportunities (ESOO), the Australian Energy Market Operator confirms the urgent need for investment in generation, long-duration storage and transmission to achieve reliability requirements over the next decade.
AEMO's updated 2022 report notes that the Hunter Power Project is among the reasons for the increased risk of a potential lapse in power supply.
"The forecast reliability risk is higher than in the 2022 ESOO in 2023-24 due to the announced delay to Kurri Kurri commissioning," the report says.
Snowy Hydro's new chief executive Dennis Barnes said the $600 million project had been hit by construction delays due to bad weather. There was no guarantee that costs and timelines would not blow out further, he said.
AEMO chief executive Daniel Westerman said that the updated outlook reiterated the critical need for timely investment in generation, long duration storage and transmission to fill forecast reliability gaps as Australia moves rapidly away from its traditional dependency on coal generation.
"Reliability gaps begin to emerge against the Interim Reliability Measure from 2025 onwards," he said.
"These gaps widen until all mainland states in the National Energy Market are forecast to breach the reliability standard from 2027 onwards, with at least five coal power stations totalling approximately 13 per cent of the NEM's total capacity expected to retire."
"Urgent and ongoing investment in renewable energy, long-duration storage and transmission is needed to reliably meet demand from Australian homes and businesses."
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