More records tumble as renewables hit new high and coal a new low

The record season continues apace this spring, with yet more new milestones set for renewables (hitting their highest ever instantaneous share of 75.3 per cent) and for coal (hitting the lowest share of 23.9 per cent).

The new records, for five minute trading periods, were set over the last two days, with coal hitting its new nadir twice on Wednesday and Thursday, both times in the middle of the day when rooftop solar was exerting its consumer driven muscle.

The share of coal and gas also hit a new low – of 24.6 per cent – around the same time, while renewables hit a new instantaneous peak of 75.5 per cent on Wednesday, soon after midday, according to data supplied by GPE NEMLog.

On a thirty minute period, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) says a new peak of 74.7 per cent renewables was reached at the same time on Wednesday.

As the graph illustrates, rooftop solar was the dominant player at the time, with a 51 per cent share of the grid. According to GPE NEMLog rooftop PV hit a record output of 14,446.3 megawatts (MW), and state records were set over the last two days for both Victoria and Queensland.