Renewables cheapest new-build power in Australia, CSIRO finds

Solar and wind continue to be the cheapest sources of new-build electricity in Australia, according to new research from the CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

In their third annual GenCost report, released on Tuesday, the entities have used a more accurate approach for analysing the cost of renewables by including additional ‘integration’ costs, such as storage and new transmission infrastructure.

They found that, even when the integration costs of renewables are included, solar photovoltaics and wind remain as the cheapest sources of new electricity generation capacity.

The CSIRO and AEMO gave industry stakeholders their draft findings in December 2020. CSIRO chief energy economist Paul Graham noted that stakeholders gave feedback about the impact of weather variability on driving up integration costs.