Renewables reach record 76% of demand on Australia’s main grid
Data from energy advisory company Global Power Energy (GPE) shows the share of renewables in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) energy mix reached a record high of 76.4% at 12.05pm on Monday.
GPE NEMLog energy analyst Geoff Eldridge said the new high for renewable energy share replaces the previous record of 75.9%, a mark established on 6 November 2024, but suggested the new record is itself likely to be broken before the year is done.
“This is the first seasonal record of this key blue-ribbon indicator, one that will be followed closely over the coming months to see where it settles for another year,” he said.
At the time of the new high, total demand across the NEM was 29,215 MW with renewables providing a combined 21,917 MW.
Rooftop solar generation contributed 12,532 MW or 43.7% of demand, utility solar provided 4,549 MW (15.9%), wind 8,074 MW (30.6%), and hydro 616 MW (2.1%).
The share of renewables could have been even higher but 4,879 MW of capacity was curtailed. Battery energy storage systems were soaking up 1,340 MW of capacity at the time.
Original source: PV Magazine
