Australia's National Electricity Market hits record 80% renewable share

Renewable energy reached a historic milestone in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM), supplying 80.5% of total electricity consumption for the first time on a Saturday afternoon. This surpassed the previous record of 79.84% set only one day prior.

Rooftop solar played a critical role in this achievement, contributing more than half of the clean energy mix. At the peak of the record, rooftop PV reached approximately 16,993 MW. However, data indicates that the renewable share could have been significantly higher if not for heavy curtailment. Approximately 8.42 GW of available wind and solar output was throttled because the grid was unable to fully integrate the excess supply.

To manage the surge, flexible loads were utilized, with batteries absorbing roughly 17.3 GWh and pumped hydro taking in about 5.2 GWh. While coal-fired generation was reduced to 18.8% of demand, the market operator maintained some fossil fuel generation to ensure system security and grid stability.