Most of our electricity is produced from burning black and brown coal at large power stations. Natural gas is the third highest energy source in Australia (after oil and coal).
Australia has an abundance of renewable and non-renewable energy sources including fossil fuels. Our energy resources power our homes, cars and industry, and are a key contributor to Australia's economic prosperity.
With these technologies and robust policies, an expanded renewable energy base is possible for Australia. According to Beyond Zero Emissions, 100 per cent renewable energy supply is technically possible by 2020 using only proven technologies, at a cost of $370 billion over 10 years.
Fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) accounted for 92% of Australia's primary energy mix in 2020-21. Oil accounted for the largest share of Australia's primary energy mix in 2020-21, at 36%, followed by coal (29%) and gas (27%).
In 2021, 29% of Australia's total electricity generation was from renewable energy sources, including solar (12%), wind (10%) and hydro (6%).
SA hits new record running on 100 per cent renewables - InDaily.
Coal accounts for about 75 per cent of Australia's electricity generation, followed by gas (16 per cent), hydro (5 per cent) and wind around (2 per cent).
Renewables contributed 29% of total electricity generation in 2021, specifically solar (12%), wind (10%) and hydro (6%). The share of renewable energy generation increased from 24% in 2020.
Fossil fuels contributed 71% of total electricity generation in 2021, including coal (51%), gas (18%) and oil (2%). Coal's share of electricity generation has declined from 83% in 1999-00 while the shares of natural gas and renewables has increased.
Nuclear power does not currently provide an economically competitive solution in Australia. Lead author of Gencost, Paul Graham says the main area of uncertainty with nuclear is around capital costs. There is a lack of robust real-world data around small modular reactors (SMRs) due to low global use.
Iceland is a country running on 100% renewable energy. It gets 75% of the electricity from hydropower, and 25% from geothermal.
Australia's growing number of green hydrogen projects was a major driver of its strong ranking. The fDi report ranked Australia third globally for attracting investment in green hydrogen. Australia had more than 100 green hydrogen projects in 2022, double the number in 2021.
Albania, Iceland, and Paraguay obtain essentially all of their electricity from renewable sources (Albania and Paraguay 100% from hydroelectricity, Iceland 72% hydro and 28% geothermal). Norway obtains nearly all of its electricity from renewable sources (97 percent from hydropower).
Australia offers none of the capital or operating cost benefits available in many developing countries. Compared to refineries across Asia, Australian refineries suffer from substantial disadvantages in operating and capital costs that preclude Australia from consideration for major new refinery projects.
Indeed, Australia is a hydrocarbon-rich nation. Consequently, both oil and gas have played a key role in satisfying the country's energy needs.
Of the world's top ten economies, only two, Brazil and Canada, can theoretically reach self-reliance. The rest — China, Japan and Germany to name a few — are poor in resources in relation to their needs and their dependency on energy imports is growing by leaps and bounds.
China Buys More Australia Coal at Highest Level Since Ban - Bloomberg.
Industry is the largest user of electricity with 33% of electricity consumption, followed by services (27%) and households (26%).
Coal Reserves in Australia
This means it has about 1,231 years of Coal left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).
A 5kW solar system (or around 15-20 solar panels) is usually big enough for the average Australian home but, as a general rule, it doesn't hurt to put as many solar panels on your roof as will fit.
Share of energy usage from renewable sources in Australia 2022, by state. Tasmania had Australia's highest renewable energy penetration in 2022, at 99.1 percent.
Most of Australia's energy imports are of refined petroleum products and crude oil. Domestic refineries imported just under two thirds of their feedstock, while 63% of refined product consumption in Australia was met by imports.
Gas reserves
Conventional natural gas in eastern Australia is currently produced in a number of fields in the Gippsland, Otway, Cooper, Bass and Surat-Bowen basins. Conventional natural gas is also produced from the Carnarvon and Perth basins in Western Australia and the Bonaparte basin in the Northern Territory.
Australia's principal black coal producing basins are the Bowen Basin (Queensland) and Sydney Basin (New South Wales). Locally important black coal mining operations also include Collie in Western Australia, and Fingal and Kimbolton in Tasmania.