Wind and solar close to 70 pct of Australia’s main grid as fossil fuels sent to new low

Wind and solar power reached an instantaneous peak of nearly 70 per cent of generation on Australia’s main grid on Monday, setting new output records and sending fossil fuel generation to a new low.

The share of renewables in the National Electricity Market hit a new record of 71.55 per cent at 11.50am (AEST) on Monday, beating the previous record of 70.83 per cent set just over a week earlier.

The share of wind and solar alone reached 69.98 per cent, according to GPE NEMLog2 – based on a five minute trading interval – which knocked over a previous peak of 69.58 per cent set on the previous Friday.

This compares to a peak of 65.8 per cent a year ago, and just 18.6 per cent five years ago, underlying the significant and rapid change of the grid over the last few years.

The combined output of variable renewable energy (wind and solar), also smashed the previous record, setting a new peak of 19,811 MW, up from 19,583 MW in February this year.

At the same time, coal also was sent down to a record low share of the main grid. As renewables grow, then fossil fuel output must shrink, and the share of coal hit a new low of 27.91 per cent at the same time as renewables hit their new peak. The share of coal and gas hit a new low of 28.6 per cent.

As is usually the case in such events, rooftop solar was the biggest player in the market, and the principal bugbear of the coal sector, injecting more than 10 GW into the market, supplying 36 per cent of the grid on its own.

The Australian Energy Market Operator is trying to prepare the grid, and its own operational protocols, to allow periods of 100 per cent renewables as early as 2025.

The opportunities may present themselves before that, with the amount of potential renewables already exceeding 100 per cent of demand on several occasions, although some of this was voluntarily curtailed by negative prices, and others forcibly curtailed by network and other constraints.