Solar and wind now provide 99% of new generating capacity in Australia. Renewables supply more than 40% of power to the main grid.

Australia will need six times as much solar and wind to reach net zero through the electrification of everything.

This means building new transmission corridors, as existing lines were built to connect cities with coal power stations. But the best solar and wind resources lie in different places.

Many new solar and wind projects are already struggling to secure access to the grid. Australia’s grid operator has laid out a plan to build 10,000 kilometres of new transmission lines. But these new projects are proving difficult to build amid cost blowouts and protests. Some communities are pushing back against new powerlines, despite landowner compensation of up to

© The Conversation