As new renewable energy generation is approved, constructed and energised in the National Electricity Market (NEM), emissions intensity is suitably decreasing.
Analysing Open Electricity data, Windlab principal wind engineer David Osmond found average NEM emissions intensity to have decreased 510kg CO2-equivalent per megawatt-hour (MWh) in the last 12 months – a 25 per cent drop since 2020 and a 40 per cent decline since 2015. This is inclusive of emissions associated with electricity imports.
South Australia is leading the charge, with its emissions intensity dropping below 200kg CO2-e/MWh in the past year, contributing to a 28 per cent decline since 2020 and 68 per cent drop since 2015.
The state’s emissions intensity nearly halved between February 2016 and February 2018, which coincided with the closure of South Australia’s last coal-fired power plant in May 2016 – located in Port Augusta.
Over the past 12 months, South Australia has derived 64 per cent of its electricity from wind energy, 25 per cent from gas and 7 per cent from solar, according to data from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). Such data doesn’t include contributions from rooftop solar.
While Victoria remains the highest contributor to NEM emissions, averaging just over 600 CO2-e/MWh as of February 2026, the state’s footprint is rapidly dropping, having averaged just below 1200 CO2-e/MWh in February 2010.
The state continues to rely heavily on brown coal, deriving 60 per cent of its electricity from this source over the past 12 months. Wind contributed 27 per cent and solar 5 per cent.
Queensland has experienced the slowest decline, with emissions intensity down by below 20 per cent since 2020 and below 30 per cent since 2010. Black coal underpinned 70 per cent of the state’s electricity generation over the past 12 months, with solar contributing 12 per cent and wind 9 per cent.
David Osmond’s data can be found here.
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