THAT WAS EASY:

"Australia is investing in renewable energy at a faster rate per capita than any other country?" Gatt said in a statement accompanying the launch of the roadmap, which is part of the work of the Global Power System Transformation (G-PST) Consortium.

"As Australia's energy market operator, we've seen average renewable energy contribution increase to approximately 40 per cent of total or underlying demand, along with five-minute interval peaks above 60 per cent.

"In addition, consumer rooftop solar PV is pushing grid-scale generation out of the market under certain day-time conditions, setting minimum operational demand records across the country."

AEMO has forecast that renewables could account for 100 per cent of grid demand at certain times as early as 2025, and could become a regular occurrence from then.

But its own planning document, the Integrated System Plan, models the exit of coal in the early to mid 2030s, and a grid that operates close to 100 per cent renewables for most of the year. That requires not just new technologies, but a different way of thinking about its operations.

"The cost of renewable energy is no longer the challenge - integrating renewable energy securely and efficiently into our electricity systems, and ensuring we have the right operational tools and capabilities in place, is what we need to solve," said CSIRO's Energy Systems research director Dr John Ward

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