Solar energy accounted for just over half of renewable energy production last year, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The latest figures show that domestic energy use generally, fell by 0.7 per cent to 5,691 petajoules* (PJ) in the 2023-24 financial year.
ABS head of environment statistics Luisa Ryan remarked that household use of energy fell by 3.4 per cent to 980 PJ in the 2023-24 financial year, driven by a 15.1 per cent fall in natural gas usage.
“Electricity usage remained flat, with most other energy products recording small decreases”, Ryan added.
Energy net consumption by industry fell by 0.1 per cent to 4,711 PJ, reflecting in particular lower use in the manufacturing industry, which fell 6.1 per cent. This fall was offset by rises in the transport industry (up 10.6 per cent) and the commercial and services sector (up 3.2 per cent).
"Renewable energy production in Australia continued to grow in the 2023-24 financial year, with solar energy production rising by 15.9 per cent and now accounting for 51 per cent of renewable energy", Ryan said.
There were small falls in the production of other renewables, including wind energy (down 1.8 per cent) and hydro energy (down 10 per cent).
*PJ = One petajoule is 10¹⁵ joules, or 278 gigawatt hours.