TOH edition: Wednesday, 23 September 2026 · Energy & Climate
The Fuel Shock Everyone Is Paying For Has an Opposite: Sun and Wind Ran 80 Percent of Australia's Grid, and Household Rooftops Supplied Half of It
Reported by The Independent
Publisher date:
On 18 September renewables supplied 79.5% of demand on Australia's National Electricity Market, beating the previous record of 78.6%. The next day the Australian Energy Market Operator recorded 80.4%, with household rooftop solar alone meeting more than half of all demand for around 30 minutes at lunchtime. At the moment the first record was set, 26,316MW of renewable power was on the grid against just over 2,000MW from fossil fuels.
Energy bills and fuel supply are among the issues households are following most closely in the seventh month of the Gulf conflict. A national grid has now run four-fifths on sunlight and wind, with ordinary rooftops as the single largest source.
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