Abstract for:Transitioning power networks to renewable energy: an Australian case study

The mitigation of climate change will require a massive shift away from fossil fuel generation to renewable energy and this revolution is well underway. Power network regulators and managers worldwide are grappling with the most efficient way to make this transition, while simultaneously facing reducing customer demand caused by energy efficiency measures and private onsite solar photovoltaic generation. This article describes the application of a system dynamics model used to explore various network scenarios and their interdependence with private generation and battery storage. The simulations indicate that private solar will result in greatly reduced network loads and undermine conventional baseload generation, while the uptake of private onsite battery storage will depend on future network pricing policies. A least cost transition to large scale network renewable energy will result from a generation mix that minimises network storage.