By Cathy Alexander
A new report says Australia could power itself entirely by renewable energy within a decade, halving the country's greenhouse gas emissions.
While going down the renewable road would be more expensive, the report, written by engineers and consultants for the Beyond Zero Emissions group, shows it would also yield energy security benefits.
"Today, Australia's energy is supplied by fossil fuels such as black coal and natural gas which are commodities benchmarked to international energy markets," the group's executive director Matthew Wright said.
"Relying on fossil fuels leaves Australian families and Australian industry exposed to future fluctuations in volatile and unpredictable energy costs."
But, Mr Wright said, there were no fuel costs associated with renewable energy.