What are renewable energy sources?

Renewable energy sources in Australia include solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity, bioenergy, and emerging sources like wave, tidal, and green hydrogen. Renewable generation now produces about 39 per cent of the National Electricity Market's output as of 2024, up from less than 10 per cent in 2010, and the federal target is to reach 82 per cent by 2030.

Solar is the fastest-growing source. Australia has the highest residential solar penetration in the world, with rooftop solar installed on more than 3.6 million homes (about one in three) and producing about 11 per cent of the country's electricity. Major large-scale solar farms operate at Coleambally and Sunraysia in New South Wales, Bungala in South Australia, Tailem Bend in South Australia, and across northern Queensland. South Australia regularly meets 100 per cent of its electricity demand from renewables for extended periods.

Wind power is concentrated in southern Australia, where the Roaring Forties produce reliable wind for much of the year. Major wind farms include Macarthur in Victoria, Snowtown in South Australia, Murra Warra in Victoria, and Stockyard Hill in Victoria. The Bass Strait wind resource has driven Tasmanian wind farm development at Musselroe and Cattle Hill. Offshore wind is at an earlier stage, with the first offshore wind zones declared off Gippsland in Victoria in 2022 and the Hunter region of New South Wales in 2023.

Hydroelectricity is dominated by the Snowy Mountains Scheme (about 4,100 megawatts) and Tasmania's Hydro Tasmania network (about 2,300 megawatts). The Snowy 2.0 expansion will add another 2,000 megawatts of pumped-hydro storage by 2027. Battery storage has grown rapidly through projects like the Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia (the original Tesla big battery installed in 2017) and the Waratah Super Battery in New South Wales. Green hydrogen, produced by electrolysis powered by renewable electricity, is the focus of the National Hydrogen Strategy and several large-scale projects in Western Australia and Queensland.