- Farmers for Climate Action has welcomed serious steps towards a cleaner grid
- Some 50% of the energy produced on the East Coast National Electricity Market in the final quarter of 2025 was clean energy; wholesale energy prices dropped to $50/MWh
- Grid-scale battery capacity nearly trebled in 2025 and solar saved the grid during recent heat waves when coal broke down
Tuesday, 29 January 2026
Farmers for Climate Action (FCA) has welcomed several serious advancements towards a cleaner energy grid over the summer.
Representing 8,500 farmers, FCA Acting CEO, Verity Morgan-Schmidt, highlighted that:
- Some 50% of electricity produced on the National Electricity Market in the December 2025 quarter was clean energy
- This helped drive wholesale energy prices down to $50, a 44% drop from the previous quarter
- New figures reveal grid-scale battery storage on the NEM nearly trebled in 2025, rising from 2.0 gigawatts to 5.38 gigawatts
- Australians installed an extraordinary 200,000 household batteries between June and the end of 2025 using the Federal Government’s cheaper home batteries program; some 4.7 gigawatt hours of storage. The batteries have been wildly popular in regional areas such as north-east Victoria and the north coast of NSW.
- Solar saved the grid during heatwaves two weeks ago, producing 60% of the grid’s electricity when it was most needed, as air conditioners were used in most homes
- Millions of Australians will have access to free electricity for three hours a day as of July 1, when the Federal Government’s Solar Sharer policy forces all retailers to offer daily free electricity to customers when solar floods the grid with cheap energy
- Fossil fuels contributed the least to the East Coast grid, with coal having its lowest-ever seasonal share of the mix, and gas its lowest since 2000.
“Farmers need deep emissions reductions this decade so we can keep farming forever,” Ms Morgan-Schmidt said.
“We need coal and gas out of the grid, so we’re so pleased to see the hard work starting to pay off as the grid becomes cleaner. Reducing pollution in our electricity production opens the gate for other sectors to reduce pollution, such as transport and manufacturing.
“We’ve also seen really good news with big regional businesses deciding that gas is a gamble and switching to electric. Businesses like Mars Petfood in Wodonga will be fully renewable energy powered as of this year, and Yanderra Chicken Farm in Bargo has made the switch too. Australian manufacturer Electrolux in Adelaide has switched to an electric furnace, and Domestos also decided gas is a gamble and has gone electric.
“There’s a long way to go to reduce pollution across the economy, but we’re making real progress.”
Media contact:
Les White
0409805122
[email protected]
