Wholesale electricity prices are trending lower in the first month of 2021 across all states in Australia, according to research from Cornwall Insight, which notes that this builds on the low-price outcomes seen in December 2020. Solar and wind have been accounting for more of the electricity mix, pushing down the contributions of fossil fuels, as well as wholesale prices.
“It is, in fact, the lowest monthly average price since December 2012. Unsurprisingly, this price drop had a large impact on more expensive natural gas generation in Victoria,” said Cornwall Insight Australia Consultant George Wong.
“The largest decrease in natural gas generation percentage can be seen in Victoria, where it only accounted for 0.7% of the total generation in January 2021. In Victoria, the brown coal generation also saw a decrease in percentage share from 78.8% to 74.9%. In contrast, solar PV generation has increased from 1.5% to 2.9%, while wind generation increased from 11.2% to 16.3%.”
Wong said it's the “same story” with other Australian states.
“With a low average monthly price driven by increased solar PV and wind generation. The consequence of which is a reduction in the share of fossil fuels in the generation mix,” he said. “As the wholesale electricity price has fallen, out-of-market costs to keep the system secure have also increased, with South Australia particularly seeing a 91% increase in out-of-market costs when comparing 2020 with 2019.”
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Does not WA (Western Australia) count, being one third of the island continent?