Gas-fired power generation will not be cheaper than coal and will only result in marginal emission reductions, new research has found.
The University of Queensland’s Global Change Institute has produced modelling of the costs and environmental benefits of shifting from coal to gas power generation.
The research also compares this with the benefits of shifting to renewable energy.
The university’s energy economics researcher Professor John Foster says the findings contradict a widely-held view that renewable energy is too expensive compared with fossil fuels.
He says the modelling also suggests gas could push up electricity costs and produce only marginal emission reductions compared with coal.
“While our findings might indicate that pursuing a gas-centric scenario will lead to increased prices and reduced carbon emissions, they may not be sufficient to change the dominant industry view which is intent on replacing coal with gas,” Prof Foster said.
He says wholesale gas prices would be higher than converting to renewable power.
“There is no justification for the claim that a high proportion of energy sourced from renewables will drive up wholesale costs, in comparison to a power system heavily dependent on coal seam gas,” Prof Foster said.
This comes as the Australian and Queensland governments rely on the developing CSG and liquefied natural gas industry to get the economy back on track.
Prof Foster says a mix of large-scale renewable energy generation, including solar and wind, combined with efficient energy consumption will deliver the most resilient Australian power market by 2035.
