Australia’s emissions from generating electricity have fallen 30% since 2015 thanks to a “quiet revolution” in which wind and solar technologies have reduced the country’s reliance on coal and gas, a new report finds.
About 40GW of new rooftop and large-scale renewable energy capacity has been deployed across the country since 2015, sending the share of renewables in the power mix from 16% to nearly 40% by 2023.
Based on projects currently under construction, it’s expected that the share of renewables will climb to 48% by the end of 2025, which would translate into a 40% reduction in power sector emissions in a decade, according to the report, which was prepared for the Clean Energy Council by Green Energy Markets Australia.
Australia aims to get to 82% renewable electricity by 2030, and a recent assessment found it’s back on track towards hitting that target.
However, according to Green Energy Markets Australia’s assessment, the country will need to move faster to get there, since the current pipeline of projects would only take it to the 60% mark.
If Australia does achieve the 82% target, then the clean energy boom would yield 1 billion tonnes of avoided emissions in the 15 years to 2030, per the report.
The country has committed to reducing its total emissions by 43% by the end of the decade, relative to 2005 levels.
“Decarbonising the electricity sector is not only important because it represents the largest source of emissions in the Australian economy, but because it enables decarbonisation through electrification of other sectors currently reliant on oil and gas, including transport, buildings and industries,” says Kane Thornton, chief executive of the Clean Energy Council.
The energy transition is placing downward pressure on electricity prices and boosting economic activity and jobs numbers in rural communities, Thornton said.
“The challenge now is to move even faster in decarbonising the electricity sector, given its critical role in setting Australia on a path to net zero emissions and meeting our international obligations.”
