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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
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Tony Wood for the Conversation

Australia’s long, complicated energy transition is finally working – and not a moment too soon

Solar panels are fitted on a roof in Australia as renewables and energy storage contributed more than 50% of supplied electricity for the first time
Solar panels are fitted on a roof in Australia as renewables and energy storage contributed more than 50% of supplied electricity for the first time last quarter. Photograph: zstockphotos/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Ten years ago, if a heatwave as intense as last week’s record-breaker had hit the east coast, Australia’s power supply may well have buckled. But this time, the system largely operated as we needed, despite some outages.

On Australia’s main grid last quarter, renewables and energy storage contributed more than 50% of supplied electricity for the first time, while wholesale power prices were more than 40% lower than a year earlier.

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