Australia Adds 7 GW of Renewable Capacity in 2025, Remains on Track for 2030 Target

Australia added nearly 7 GW of new renewable energy capacity in 2025, reinforcing confidence that the country can meet its flagship goal of sourcing 82% of electricity from renewables by 2030, according to the federal government. 

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen said renewable generation — including solar and wind — supplied around 50% of electricity across the grid in the fourth quarter of 2025, marking a major milestone in the national energy transition. 

Government data shows the transition remains on schedule. In the December quarter, renewable energy accounted for 49.9% of generation in the National Electricity Market (NEM), which covers South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland. For the full 2025 calendar year, renewables supplied a record 42.9% of electricity across the NEM. 

In Western Australia’s South West Interconnected System (SWIS) — described as the world’s largest isolated grid — renewables provided an average of 50.7% of electricity in Q4 2025, the first time the system has exceeded the halfway mark. 

Beyond generation share milestones, the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) estimates that close to 7 GW of utility-scale and small-scale renewable capacity was added to Australia’s main grids in 2025, following a record 7.5 GW installed in 2024. 

Bowen said the figures demonstrate Australia is well positioned to reach its 2030 renewable energy target and reiterated the government’s ambition to become a “renewable energy superpower.” 

“If we stay the course and keep lifting our efforts, we can continue to lower energy bills while meeting our climate goals,” he said, adding that while 2025 was a strong year for renewables, “there is still much more to do.” 

The minister acknowledged ongoing challenges but noted that project approvals accelerated in 2025, reaching record levels. Over the past year, the federal government approved 54 large-scale energy projects across all states and territories. 

Meanwhile, the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) latest Connections Scorecard shows the NEM development pipeline has expanded to 275 projects, representing 56.6 GW of generation and storage capacity. An additional 23.2 GW of earlier-stage projects are either finalising contracts or under construction, up 43% year-on-year. 

Bowen highlighted the expanded Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) and the revamped Cheaper Home Batteries Program as key drivers of growth. To date, four CIS tenders have been launched, covering 6.6 GW of generation capacity and 18.4 GWh of dispatchable storage, with a further three rounds already awarding 40 projects. 

At the household and community level, more than 185,000 batteries with a combined capacity of 4.27 GWh were installed under the Cheaper Home Batteries Program in the six months to December 31. Between January and November, Australia also added over 140,000 new rooftop solar systems, further strengthening distributed energy capacity.