Emissions reductions delivered by renewable energy
Read our report on emissions reductions in Australia as a direct result of the uptake and acceleration of clean energy
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19 Nov 2024
Since 2015, 40 GW of new rooftop solar and large-scale renewable energy capacity has been deployed across Australia, with the share of renewables in the energy system climbing from 16 per cent to just shy of 40 per cent in 2023.
This investment has resulted in emissions being 30 per cent lower today than they would have otherwise been without the renewable energy investment since 2015. In aggregate, this has resulted in over 200 million tonnes of avoided CO2 emissions since 2015, relative to if Australia had continued to rely on the 2015 power plant fleet.
The growth in renewable generation since 2015 is estimated to have avoided 55 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in the 2023 calendar year, relative to a situation in which we had continued to rely on the generation fleet in place back in 2015. This is equal to a 30 per cent reduction in electricity emissions
This will deliver 75 million tonnes of emission reductions in that year relative to if we had
kept the 2015 mix of generation plant in place. This is a 39 per cent reduction on electricity emissions. That is equivalent to reducing the emissions from all of Australia’s cars, light commercial vehicles, and aeroplanes to zero.
That's if growth continues at the pace required to meet the Federal Government's target of 82% renewable energy by 2030.
Rooftop solar uptake booms in 2024 - New report sparks call for national home battery rebate
Australians’ desire to take control of their power bills has continued to see rooftop solar uptake boom in 2024, according to the Clean Energy Council’s bi-annual Rooftop Solar and Storage Report (Jul-Dec 2024) released today which found for the fifth consecutive year, more than 300,000 Australian homes and businesses installed rooftop solar.
Response to the 2025-26 Default Market Offer (AER)
While today’s decision is not what was hoped for, it confirms that ageing and increasingly unreliable coal-fired power stations, are by far the biggest contributors to these higher costs for Australian households and small businesses - as well as an over-reliance on expensive gas, which is in short supply.
The Impact of a Delayed Transition on Electricity Bills
The Impact of a Delayed Transition on Electricity Bills report examines the impact to power bills for Australian households and businesses should renewable energy generation be capped at 54 per cent, as proposed under a nuclear energy policy.
Renewables the cheapest path to lower Aussie energy bills - new report finds
Australian power bills could jump by 30 per cent for households and 41 per cent for small businesses by 2030, further aggravating the cost-of-living crisis, if Australia stalls the rollout of renewable energy, independent modelling released today by the Clean Energy Council reveals.
