Australia to be scored on its renewable energy progress

More than one-third of Australia's electricity already comes from renewable sources but most people do not realise it, according to an environment group.

The Climate Council on Wednesday released a tool to track Australia's progress towards its renewable energy and emissions reduction goals.

The announcement comes days after Australia passed a significant milestone, with rooftop solar installed on four million homes, and as debate continues over the future of the nation's energy generation.

The Momentum Monitor will track electricity use and emissions reductions across the transport, energy and industry sectors and analyse Australia's progress based on publicly available data.

Tracking changes could help educate Australians on the nation's progress towards its 2050 net-zero goal, Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie said.

It will also highlight the nation's progress, which has yet to be widely recognised.

"Most Australians don't know that we are already powered 40 per cent by renewable power," she said.

"This monitoring tool will give the community ready access to this information and support good decision-making."

The first update to the tool shows local industries have added 13 tonnes of hydrogen capacity in the past year and reduced fossil fuel use by one per cent.

Public transport use rose by more than 14 per cent and Australians have registered more than 160,000 electric vehicles, while almost 163,000 households installed rooftop solar between 2023 and 2024.

Even small changes in how we move around could deliver big changes to Australia's overall emissions, Ms McKenzie said, adding that solar panels and home batteries are making a significant impact.

"These numbers highlight the stunning progress we've made and how far we can still go," she said.

"Australian households and industries are jumping on opportunities in readily available, proven technologies."

The energy-monitoring tool has arrived less than a week after Australia passed the solar milestone of four million rooftop installations, representing solar systems on one in every three homes.

The investments mean Australia led the world on solar power generation, Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton said.

Households with solar panels installed, he said, saved an average of $1500 on power bills each year.

"This is an extraordinary achievement for Australia by Australian householders who are now doing the heavy lifting as far as shifting Australia away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy," he said.

Australia's energy mix could change in future, however, after the federal coalition announced plans to build seven nuclear power plants around the nation if it wins government at the election due by May.

A federal parliamentary inquiry into the technology is touring areas flagged for future nuclear plants and will visit areas in Victoria in early December.