Australia Experiences Record Electricity Demand During Heatwaves, Renewables Significantly Contribute to Supply

Australia's National Electricity Market experienced extreme electricity demand from January 7-9, attributed to widespread heatwaves.\n\nIncluding demand met by rooftop solar, the observed peak demands ranked as the 1st, 4th, and 2nd highest on record. Wind and solar generation provided significant contributions during these high demand periods.\n\nAnalysis of the 10 highest demand days since January 1, 2023, including demand met by rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems, indicates that rooftop solar reduced peak demand levels by an average of 14%. When considering demand net of both rooftop and utility-scale PV, the average reduction was 17%. For demand net of all PV and wind generation, the average reduction reached 28%.\n\nSimilar trends were observed across most Australian states, with the exception of Tasmania, where peak demand occurs in winter. In Tasmania, solar energy contributed negligibly to peak demand reduction, though wind power did.\n\nExcluding rooftop PV from demand calculations sometimes shifts peak demand dates to winter. The analysis focused on data from January 1, 2023, onwards. Most total peak demand events occurred after this date, but many peak demand events excluding rooftop PV occurred prior to it. All data referenced in this report is sourced from the OpenElectricity website.