{
  "id": 16182793,
  "title": "Renewables Boom Pushes Australia’s Gas Power to Quarter-Century Low",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/renewables-boom-pushes-australias-gas-power-to-quarter-century-low",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-23T11:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "OilPrice",
    "slug": "oilprice",
    "url": "https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Renewables-Boom-Pushes-Australias-Gas-Power-to-Quarter-Century-Low.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Renewable energy sources and expanded battery storage have driven Australia's gas-powered electricity generation to its lowest level in a quarter-century, according to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). Despite cooler weather, electricity demand grew by 1.3% during the July-September winter quarter due to increased electrification, higher industrial usage, and greater data center consumption. Executive General Manager Policy and Corporate Affairs Violette Mouchaileh explained that with more solar and storage options, energy production and consumption patterns have shifted throughout the day. Renewable energy sources accounted for a record-high 44.3% of National Electricity Market (NEM) generation during the third quarter. Grid-scale solar output surged by 30%, while hydropower grew by 15%. Battery storage capacity more than tripled compared to the previous year. For the first time in any quarter, grid-scale batteries supplied 8% of evening peak generation, surpassing the 5.1% share of gas-powered generation. The Australian market operator noted that households with rooftop solar and batteries consumed around three-quarters less electricity from the grid during the evening peak compared to those with solar alone. This shift in generation sources has led to a dramatic drop in average NEM wholesale electricity prices, down 27% year-on-year and 15% from the previous quarter, to a record $63 per megawatt-hour, the lowest average for a September quarter since 2021.",
  "summary": "Record renewable power generation and a surge in grid-scale battery capacity pushed Australia’s gas-powered generation to its lowest for any third quarter since 2000, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said in its Quarterly Energy Dynamics (QED) report on Friday. Despite lower heating requirements, Australia’s electricity demand rose by 1.3% in the July-September winter quarter, amid…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}