Australia’s national grid achieves a record renewable energy share, with rooftop solar contributing nearly half of the total generation.

An abundance of rooftop solar generation has helped set a new record high for the total share of renewables on Australia’s main grid, reaching nearly 80 per cent on a sunny Friday afternoon in spring.

According to data from OpenElectricity.org, the share of renewable energy on the National Electricity Market (NEM) hit 79.5 per cent at 1.30 pm on Friday, September 18. This beats the previous high of 78.6 per cent recorded nearly a year earlier at 11.30 am on Saturday, October 11, 2025, as measured by the Australian Energy Market Operator.

The record is based on 30-minute intervals, consistent with the measurement methodology used by the Australian Energy Market Operator; however, 5-minute data suggests the renewable share may have reached as high as 80.1 per cent.

At the time of the 1.30 pm record, renewables supplied a total of 26,316 megawatts (MW) to the NEM, compared to just over 2,000 MW from fossil fuels. Rooftop solar accounted for nearly half of all generation at a 47.9 per cent share, followed by utility-scale solar at 22.1 per cent. Combined brown and black coal held roughly 20 per cent of the mix, while gas contributed less than 1 per cent.

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