Key points:
- The amount of electricity produced by rooftop solar panels jumped 23 per cent on average compared with the same period in 2022
- Generation from large-scale wind and solar farms also surged, up 11 per cent, as new projects came online
- Gas-fired generation dipped to its lowest level in almost 20 years
Surging renewable energy output has pushed fossil fuel-fired generation down to record low levels in Australia's biggest electricity grid, triggering another big fall in wholesale prices.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), which runs the national electricity market covering the eastern states, said power prices had tumbled in the three months to the end of March.
Average prices were $83 a megawatt hour for the period, a 10.5 per cent decrease compared with the previous three months, and a whopping 62 per cent lower than the September quarter last year.
The findings were outlined in AEMO's latest quarterly report, which also showed the extraordinary growth of output from green energy sources such as wind and solar.
AEMO said the amount of electricity produced by Australia's vast array of rooftop solar panels jumped by 23 per cent on average compared with the same period in 2022.
Generation from large-scale wind and solar farms also surged, up 11 per cent, as new projects came online.
At the same time as renewable energy soared, the agency said coal- and gas-fired power fell away to historically low levels, despite AEMO reporting that price caps imposed by the federal government had lowered their costs.
According to AEMO, gas-fired generation dipped to its lowest level in almost 20 years, while the steady decline of both black and brown coal power showed few signs of slowing.
Hunter Valley's Liddell Power Station closes in end of an era for Australia's oldest coal-fired plant. (April 2023)
The coal-fired generator leaves behind a 52-year legacy of creating electricity for the country and creating employment for thousands of people in the NSW Hunter Valley.
The final turbine will go offline today but experts have said the closure will have little impact on the grid.
