CANBERRA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Renewable sources of energy supplied more than half of the power to Australia's largest electricity market for the first time in the final quarter of 2025, according to data released on Thursday.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said in a report that renewables delivered 51 percent of the overall supply to the National Electricity Market (NEM) in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 46 percent in the final three months of 2024.
The NEM is Australia's largest electricity system, supplying power to over 85 percent of the national population in east and southeast Australia.
AEMO said on Thursday that wind generation output in the NEM rose by 29 percent between the fourth quarters of 2024 and 2025, while grid scale solar generation was up 15 percent.
In the same period, coal-fired generation fell 4.6 percent to an all-time quarterly low and gas-fired generation dropped 27 percent to its lowest output since the last quarter of 2000.
Wholesale electricity prices across the NEM were down 44 percent year on year.
Violette Mouchaileh, executive general manager of Policy and Corporate Affairs at AEMO, said that it was a landmark moment for the NEM.
"It reflects years of sustained investment and demonstrates that more wind, solar and battery capacity in the system reduces reliance on higher cost coal and gas generation, placing sustained downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices," she said in a statement.
Western Australia's Wholesale Electricity Market, which is not connected to the NEM, reported that renewable and storage generation supplied a record 52.4 percent of energy needs over the quarter.
The federal government has set a national target of 82 percent renewable electricity generation by 2030. ■