Solar power beats coal in Australia’s electricity generation for the first time

Proponents of renewable energy are upbeat about solar power surpassing coal-produced electricity for the first time in Australia since the setting up of a national electricity market two decades ago. The contribution from coal dropped to a record low of 9,315 megawatt (MW) just after noon on Sunday amid low demand and sunny skies, the Guardian UK reported. The dominant share of 9,427MW came from solar power. This meant, renewable energy represented 57% of national electricity generation, albeit for only a few minutes.

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Dylan McConnell, a research fellow at the University of Melbourne’s climate and energy college, welcomed the development.

“This is what I unofficially call ‘record season’,” McConnell told the Guardian. He said the numbers should further improve during the country’s spring or shoulder seasons due to a combination of low demand and nice weather, adding to the “giant shares of renewable energy that generally push out coal.”

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Energy prices remained negative on Sunday from 8.30 am through to 5 pm. Coal generators suffer more losses compared to their solar and wind competitors when prices turn negative because of the prohibitive costs linked with shutting down and restarting coal generators.

Wind and solar power met 100% of South Australia’s energy demands, while Victoria would have exceeded its requirement by 2% had electricity producers not shut down operations over negative prices.

The Clean Energy Investor Group (CEIG), an 18-member body advocating investments in large-scale renewable energy projects, has been calling for financial reforms to “align Australia with international markets”.

Australia requires 51 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy generation by 2042 to meet commitments under the Paris Climate Change agreement. It will have to address a 48GW shortfall as only 3GW of new wind and solar projects have been committed, according to CEIG.

Simon Corbell, the chief executive of CEIG, said Australia needs effective market reforms and policy certainty to unlock an investment pipeline worth $70 billion. Doing so can also save the country up to $7 billion in capital costs, or up to 10% of the cost clean energy transition.”