Coal news and updates

Records smashed as renewables break through 60pct, coal output at new low

Records continued to tumble on Australia’s main electricity grid on Monday, with the share of renewable energy smashing through 60 per cent for the first time, just a day after it had set a new record of 59.8 per cent.

According to Dylan McConnell, from the Climate and Energy College in Melbourne, and using data from OpenNEM, the share of wind, solar and hydro reached 60.1 per cent at 12.10pm on Monday, exactly one day and 15 minutes after it set the previous peak on a sleepy Sunday.

The fact that this new peak occurred on a working day rather than a weekend is also significant, and highlights the increasing pace of the green energy transition in Australia, as more wind and solar – and rooftop installations – are rolled out across the country.

Spring has been dubbed the season of records by the Australian Energy Market Operator, and new benchmarks have been set for the growing share of renewables, the shrinking output of coal, and new lows for “minimum operating” demand over the last few weeks.

Sunday, according to another data watcher, Geoff Eldridge from NEMLog, witnessed not just the record for the share of renewable energy, but also the record for instantaneous wind and solar (57 per cent).