Future Energy Skills (FES) operates within the dynamic and rapidly evolving energy sector encompassing electrotechnology, renewable energy, new energy technologies, electricity generation and supply, and gas supply.
The energy sector is crucial for driving economic growth, supporting technological innovation, addressing the global challenge of climate change and simply keeping the lights on.
In Australia, the energy sector is characterised by the following key features:
The impact of the transition to a net zero
economy on the energy sector
In 2022, the Australian Government set its 2030 emissions reduction target of 43% below 2005 levels and 82% renewable generation under the Paris Agreement. The Climate Change Act (2022) legislated these targets, as well as the target of net zero emissions by 2050.1 As Australia transitions to a net zero economy, the Australian Government’s Powering Australia plan is focused on creating jobs, reducing pressure on energy bills and reducing emissions by investing heavily in electricity network upgrades and storage to boost renewable energy.2
According to the Clean Energy Australia 2024 report, renewable energy provided 39.4% of the total electricity generation in Australia in 2023.3 It is expected this this will grow to an average of 42% generation from renewable electricity in 2024.4
The Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO’s) 2024 Integrated System Plan (ISP) for the National Electricity Market (NEM) uses a scenario-based planning approach in which the Step Change scenario fulfils Australia’s emission reduction commitments in a growing economy and is the most likely scenario (through to 2050).5
Figure 1 shows the NEM capacity through to 2050 in the Step Change scenario based on AEMO’s optimal development path (ODP) for the capacity of new grid-scale generation, firming, storage and transmission.6
