South Australia Breaks Record By Running Fully On Renewable Energy For 6.5 Days

In the last week of 2021, South Australia successfully sourced over 100% of its electricity from renewable power sources, a new record for the state—and possibly among nations around the world.

Previously, the state had managed to run over three days on green energy, reported Geoff Eldridge of NEMlog, a site that tracks the operations of the National Energy Market in Australia. 

The data showed that the state produced 101% of its required energy from wind and solar sources for the six days leading up to December 29. 

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, just a minute fraction of the power consumed came from gas, which was still tapped on to keep the grid stable, as the level of renewable energy available at any given time fluctuates. 

RenewEconomy reported that during the 156-hour period, wind energy supplied an average of 64.4% of the total energy, rooftop solar panels provided 29.5%, and solar farms generated 6.2%, as calculated using Eldridge’s data. 

Bruce Mountain, Director of the Victoria Energy Policy Centre, posited that aside from smaller island grids that exist in Hawaii and Tasmania, he believed the state’s six-day record sustaining solely on clean power set a new record, especially for an developed nation.

Globally, according to data from CDP, there are over 620 cities that have 70% of its power consumption supplied by green energy, such as hydro, geothermal, solar, and wind sources.

Iceland is an example of an entire country susisting on renewable energy, as per WSCF, with 87% of the nation’s heating coming from geothermal volcanoes and hot springs.

Going forward, South Australia plans to run completely on green energy by 2030, as per PV Magazine. Though the fact that it could sustain itself for six days solely on renewables may be a key indicator that the state could reach its goal early. 

[via The Sydney Morning Herald and PV Magazine, cover image via Gary Unwin | Dreamstime.com]