The Australian government has selected 12 of the 66 power projects that applied to receive public support under the government's underwriting programme to increase power supply. Projects were selected whatever the energy source, even if the government rejected projects including generation types that are currently not legal in Australia (such as nuclear) along with projects submitted by companies that currently hold significant market shares.
The selected projects consist of 6 pumped-hydropower projects, 5 gas-fired power plants and upgrade of one coal-fired power plant and would add 3,818 MW of new generation capacity. They are expected to have a weighted emission average of 0.27tCO2eq/MWh, well below the 2018 NEM average of 0.82tCO2eq/MWh.
The underwriting programme was proposed in December 2018 after the national energy plan was cancelled in August 2018. It aims to deliver at least 1,000 - 2,000 MW of new capacity with wholesale costs below A$60/MWh (US$43/MWh). The government has not specified what backing it would provide, or how much the programme would cost.
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