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Solar and wind supply record 80% of Australia’s main power grid for first time

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Cite

Mishra, S. (2026, September 22). Solar and wind supply record 80% of Australia’s main power grid for first time. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/australia-power-grid-solar-wind-renewables-record-b3054094.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-09-22 · by Stuti Mishra

Quick Summary

Solar and wind power supplied 80% of Australia’s main electricity grid for two consecutive days, setting a new record on September 18 and breaking it the next day. On these peak days, rooftop solar alone met nearly half of all demand, while utility-scale solar and wind farms contributed significantly. This milestone highlights Australia's progress in transitioning to renewable energy sources, with the country’s energy minister Chris Bowen noting increased clean energy availability and lower costs for consumers.
Written by AI on 2026-09-22, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 18 and 19, 2025, Australia's main electricity grid, the National Electricity Market (NEM), set a new record by supplying over 80% of its power from renewable sources like solar and wind. This surpassed the previous high of 78.6% recorded in early October 2025. On September 18, the share peaked at 79.5%, with rooftop solar contributing nearly half (47.9%) and utility-scale solar adding another 22.1%. Fossil fuels, mainly coal (roughly 20%) and gas (less than 1%), provided a small portion of the total generation, highlighting the dominance of renewables in Australia's power mix. Dylan McConnell from the University of New South Wales expects more such records to be broken soon due to favorable weather conditions and lower demand for heating and cooling.

Written for “Renewable Energy Record Australia” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Renewable Energy Record Australia
Environment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-22 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3768 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Stuti Mishra
25 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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Also by Stuti Mishra
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 25 articles by Stuti Mishra →

Topics

Australia South Australia The National Electricity Market the Australian Capital Territory the Australian Energy Market Operator

Subjects

Australia GPE · 2× The National Electricity Market ORG · 2× the Australian Energy Market Operator ORG · 2× Chris Bowen PERSON · 1× Dylan McConnell PERSON · 1× Facebook ORG · 1× Labor ORG · 1× Open Electricity ORG · 1× South Australia GPE · 1× the Australian Capital Territory GPE · 1×

Narrative

Dylan McConnell, an energy systems researcher at the University of New South Wales, said clear, sunny days combined with low demand for heating and cooling had driven what he called "record season" for renewables, telling the Guardian the trend was likely to continue. "These records are probably not going to last very long, they're probably going to be broken in the next couple of weeks," he said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-22

Claims (16 extracted, 1 hedged)

Solar and wind power set a new renewable energy record on two consecutive days last week in Australia, meeting 80% of the demand on themain electricity grid. asserted
power → set → grid
The National Electricity Market, which serves the eastern states, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory, reached a renewable share of 79.5 per cent at around 1.30pm on 18 September, as per data from Open Electricity. asserted
which → serve → Electricity
That beat the previous record of 78.6 per cent set at 11.30am on 11 October 2025 and measured by the Australian Energy Market Operator. asserted
That → beat → Operator
Separate five-minute data suggested that the share briefly reached as high as 80.1 per cent. uncertain
share → suggest → cent
At the time the record was set, 26,316MW of renewable power was supplying the grid, compared with just over 2,000MW from fossil fuels. asserted
26,316MW → set → fuels
Rooftop solar alone accounted for 47.9 per cent of the generation followed by utility-scale solar at 22.1 per cent. asserted
solar → account → cent
Brown and black coal combined made up roughly 20 per cent of the mix, while gas contributed less than one per cent. asserted
gas → combine → cent
The record lasted barely a day. asserted
record → last → ?
The Australian Energy Market Operator recorded a renewable share of 80.4 per cent on 19 September, with rooftop solar meeting more than half of all demand for around 30 minutes at lunchtime. asserted
solar → record → lunchtime
Solar and wind farms added to that supply, along with a contribution from hydel power of 1 per cent, while coal and gas together provided the remaining 20 per cent. asserted
coal → add → cent
Australia's energy minister said on Saturday's milestone meant there was "more clean, cheap, sovereign energy powering our homes and businesses than ever before”. asserted
milestone → say → homes
"There’s a long way to go,” Chris Bowen wrote on Facebook, “but expect more and more of these milestones in the future as Labor gets on with the job of the energy transition, and delivering real cost of living relief.” asserted
Labor → ’ → relief
Dylan McConnell, an energy systems researcher at the University of New South Wales, said clear, sunny days combined with low demand for heating and cooling had driven what he called "record season" for renewables, telling the Guardian the trend was likely to continue. "These records are probably not going to last very long, they're probably going to be broken in the next couple of weeks," he said. asserted
he → say → weeks
Renewables supplied, on an average, 42.1 per cent of the National Electricity Market in the three months to June, a record for that quarter, after reaching 46.5 per cent in the first quarter of the year, also a record. asserted
Renewables → supply → year
Average underlying demand across the same June quarter reached a record 24,220 megawatts while average wholesale prices fell 47 per cent year-on-year to A$74 a megawatt hour, or around £38, their lowest level for that quarter since 2020. asserted
prices → reach → 2020
The market operator faces a growing task in managing the grid as coal-fired power stations are phased out, with storage and transmission capacity becoming more important for shifting renewable electricity across time and between regions as periods of high renewable generation become more frequent. asserted
periods → face → generation
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