Australia - 2050 Renewable Energy Vision at 85% !

Renewable energy sources could rapidly expand to provide 40 percent of Australia's energy needs by 2035 and 85 percent by 2050 and virtually eliminate coal-fired power stations, the nation's government said in its long-delayed energy white paper.

The transformation from coal dependency to renewable energy would require more than A$200 billion ($208 billion) of investment in new power plants, including A$100 billion in renewable sources and A$50 billion to A$60 billion in gas,

Australia remains firmly attached to carbon capture and storage (CCS) and its booming gas sector. Under the 85 percent by 2050 scenario, modeling sees fossil-fuel-fired with CCS contributing 29 percent to the energy mix, large-scale solar 16 percent, wind energy and household solar PV 13 percent each, geothermal energy 9 percent, and hydroelectricity and bioenergy 5 percent.

“Primarily, the white paper confirms that renewable energy can power all of Australia within decades, a reality being modeled by the Australian Energy Market Operator ” Milne said in a statement.