Natural gas plays key role in renewable energy future: APIA
Mon, 26 October 2009
There is an increasing awareness that natural gas will play a key role in Australia’s transition to renewable energy sources both now and in the long-term, according to the Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA).
In a speech at APIA’s annual Convention and Exhibition, Chief Executive Officer Cheryl Cartwright said that if the Australian economy was to source half of its electricity from natural gas and half from renewable energy, the nation’s emissions from the stationary energy sector would be reduced by more that 75 per cent.
Ms Cartwright said that gas would be required for ‘peaking power’ and it was the only feasible back-up source for renewable energies such as wind and solar power due to the consistency of its supply.
“Wind and solar power – the two most prominent forms of renewable energy – are both intermittent by nature. In an electricity network that is supplied by these technologies, there will always be the need for responsive back-up power from natural gas.
“This is why gas-fired power generation is so much a part of the current and long-term energy future in Australia – because it is highly responsive and can therefore be activated and de-activated quickly,” Ms Cartwright said.
