Renewable energy supplied a record 46 per cent of Australia’s electricity over the last quarter, while coal generation supply is at an all-time low.
AEMO has released its quarterly energy dynamics report for Q4 2024, which revealed record demand and a surge in renewable energy contributions.
“Renewable energy supplied a record 46 per cent of the market’s electricity, peaking at 75.6 per cent for a period on 6 November, driving emissions to record low levels,” AEMO executive general manager – reform delivery – Violette Mouchaileh said.
“The rise in rooftop solar output, coupled with record low coal-generation availability, resulted in coal-fired generation contributing less than 50 per cent of the NEM’s total generation for the first time.”
At the same time, rooftop solar and grid-scale solar reached new output records, increasing by 18 per cent and nine per cent, respectively. This surge led to minimum demand records across the National Electricity Market (NEM) and in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania.
Costs
Wholesale electricity prices averaged $88 per megawatt hour (MWh) in Q4 2024, representing an 83 per cent increase compared to a very mild Q4 2023, but 26 per cent lower than the previous quarter average of $119/MWh.
New South Wales and Queensland experienced record Q4 wholesale prices of $143/MWh and $127/MWh, respectively, due to high demand, coal generation unavailability, and transmission constraints limiting northern flow of lower-cost energy.
Victoria recorded the lowest average price at $45/MWh, followed by South Australia at $52/MWh and Tasmania at $74/MWh.
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