Australia Renewable Energy Generation Surges in September

Australia's renewable energy generation surged in September 2026. Utility-scale solar and wind assets generated a combined 5.44 terawatt-hours across the National Electricity Market, a 7% increase from the 5.1TWh produced in September 2025.

New South Wales and Queensland achieved record utility PV generation for the month of September. NSW reached 841 gigawatt-hours, while Queensland produced 645GWh. The top-performing utility PV assets in these states each recorded a 35% AC capacity factor. Victoria generated a total of 1.52TWh from wind and solar combined. This comprised 1.25TWh from wind and 267GWh from utility PV. David Dixon, a senior analyst at Rystad Energy, noted the solar contribution. "Utility-scale solar drove much of the state-level growth," he said.

Falling fossil fuel reliance and low prices

Gas-fired generation across the NEM totalled just 455GWh in September. This marked the first time September gas output has fallen below 500GWh. Wholesale electricity prices remained low during the month. Every NEM state averaged below AU$65 per megawatt-hour. The three southern states-South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria-averaged below AU$40/MWh. In contrast, Western Australia's Wholesale Electricity Market averaged around AU$110/MWh. That was the highest average price recorded for the month of September since that market began.

Renewable curtailment also showed improvement. Utility PV curtailment fell to 22% of available generation in September 2026, down from 26% a year earlier. Wind curtailment held broadly flat at around 13%. The trend was even stronger in August, where NEM utility PV curtailment dropped to approximately 9%, down from roughly 18% in August 2025.

Battery storage financial closures

Two major battery storage projects reached financial close as September 2026 ended. Birdwood secured funding for a 400MW/1,860MWh battery storage project. Atmos Renewables also reached financial close on the 400MW/1,600MWh Teebar Battery in Queensland.

Further investment activity was recorded in the wind sector. Atmos Renewables’ 470MW Parron wind farm in Western Australia reached financial close in the same month. Foresight Group also achieved financial close for a 130MW wind farm in Western Australia.

Strong investment and pipeline growth

The scale of new project completions was significant. The Australian Energy Market Operator's FY26 annual report documented 9.1GW of new generation and storage capacity attaining full output in the NEM during the year. This was more than double the volume achieved in FY25. These newly operational assets included ACEN Australia’s Stubbo stages 1 and 2 in NSW, Hana Financial Investment’s Columboola solar farm in Queensland, and the ENEOS Group and Sojitz Corporation joint venture at Edenvale, also in Queensland.

Investment momentum remained strong. The Clean Energy Regulator reported its strongest quarter yet for rooftop solar installations, household battery uptake, and large-scale solar investment. In that quarter, 1.8GW of generation capacity reached final investment decision, the strongest quarterly result since the regulator began tracking the activity.

The broader connections pipeline for future projects in the NEM grew 42% in FY26, reaching 75.4GW.