Is Australian electricity increasingly renewable?

• The share of Australia’s electricity produced using renewable sources has increased in the 2019-2020 year according to data from the ABS
• While coal-fired generation constitutes a majority potion of electricity generation by fuel source, it is down six per cent on the year before
• Renewable energy is up 15 per cent to account for 23 per cent of the country’s electricity generation
• Energy Minister Angus Taylor says as the use of renewable sources continues to grow, dispatchable sources remain crucial

The share of Australia’s electricity generated from renewable sources has increased in 2019-2020, according to the latest energy data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Coal-fired generation constituted 55 per cent of the country’s electricity generation mix, although declined six per cent on the year before

Renewable energy grew by 15 per cent and accounted for 23 per cent of the country’s electricity generation in 2019-2020.

Of the various renewables, solar was the greatest contributor, generating 35 per cent of all renewables, and eight per cent of Australia’s total electricity generation.

Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said as the use of renewable sources continues to grow, dispatchable sources would remain crucial.

“The Government is focused on protecting consumers from high prices and reliability risks as technologies in the energy sector change,” Minister Taylor said.

“We need to keep existing dispatchable supply in the market for as long as it is needed and ensure that retiring capacity is adequately replaced with new dispatchable generation to support the secure, reliable and affordable supply of electricity for all Australians.”

Overall, Australia’s energy consumption dropped by 2.9 per cent in 2019-2020 as the pandemic constrained the activities of the transportation sector. This was primarily attributable to a nine per cent decline in the transportation sector as a result of fewer passenger air and road travel.