CSIRO power paper questioned
Reports say a new CSIRO paper has been tweaked to show gas power in a more favourable light.
The CSIRO Low Emissions Technology Roadmap has been released, which looks at a number of pathways to Australia’s clean power future.
But the report has been accused of being “doctored” to favour limiting wind and solar spending and a strong focus on gas-fired generation.
One of the primary scenarios focuses on high amounts of gas-fired generation and limits to wind and solar, but it makes some bold assumptions about energy efficiency and energy productivity gains in the building, transport and industrial sectors.
Additionally, a high wind and solar scenario discussed in the report assumes efficiency and productivity will continue to track as they are. This means that the wind and solar scenario assumes 50 per cent more electricity generation will be required in 2050 than in the gas-heavy scenarios.
Under this imbalance, the high gas scenario comes out cheaper in both investment costs and in consumer bills.
Energy minister Josh Frydenberg issued a statement welcoming the release of the CSIRO Low Emissions Technology Roadmap, which he says “strongly reinforces the Government’s technology neutral approach to emissions reductions and our focus on energy security and energy productivity”.
Australian renewable energy industry expert Gules Parkinson says “the report continues a sad history in Australia of analysis that is shaped to fit what appears to be a predetermined outcome”.
Mr Parkinson compares the different scenarios in a detailed report for RenewEconomy.