Renewable energy development in Australia: Regulatory to technical challenges

In Australia, grid integration of renewable energy (RE) resources has been very popular due to public awareness of climate change and favorable government policies. The initial mandatory renewable energy target (MRET) has been successful and there has been a revised target (RET) set for next decade. On the other hand, there are some regulatory and technical issues posing hindrances to the development of renewable resources. This paper discusses the opportunities and problems associated with renewable energy integration into Australia´s National Electricity Market NEM. Issues such as the regulatory frameworks, access standards as per National Electricity Rules (NER), connection process, and transmission pricing frameworks are discussed.