South Australia ran on 104% renewables last week

By Peter Roberts

South Australia is within striking distance of being the first energy jurisdiction in the world to achieve 100 percent renewable power following an extraordinary week in which the state averaged 104.1 per cent over the seven days (to 2.30pm AEST on Sunday).

Over the last week, the average price was minus $28/MWh.

According to figures from the authoritative RenewEconomy website imports accounted for just 2.6 per cent and exports of wind and solar for 13.7 per cent of total production.

No coal fired power was needed, and gas met six percent of the state’s demand over the week.

However this incredible achievement – reached only five years after the state installed the world’s first Tesla big battery at Hornsdale (pictured) – will certainly be followed by the state accounting for all state demand for an entire year in the very near future – possibly as early as 2025.

This is even more certain as this week ARENA backed the construction of eight grid scale batteries worth $2.7 billion – two of which will be in South Australia.

Going fully renewable would be truly momentous.

While the coalition stalled renewables in Canberra the South Australian result is a collaborative achievement by both Liberal and Labor parties.

Labor premier Jay Wilson Weatherill began the effort with the big battery, his successor Steven Marshall continued the push and famously committed the state to a 500 percent renewables target, and today’s Labor leader Peter Malinauskas seems set to finish the job.

Now South Australia has shown in the strongest possible way that fossil fuels are dead, and a renewable future is within our grasp.

Picture: hornsdalepowerreserve.com.au/Hornsdale Power Reserve and Hornsdale Wind Farm