AEMO says renewables and batteries cut power prices

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has released its Quarterly Energy Dynamics report for Q2 2026, saying record renewable output and growing battery participation helped push wholesale electricity prices to their lowest June quarter average since 2020.

• Record renewable generation reached 42.1% of total generation, up from 37.1% in Q2 2025; wind rose 20%, grid-scale solar 12%, and rooftop solar 6.9%. A total of 14 new generation and storage projects totaling 3.9 GW were commissioned to full output in the National Electricity Market.
• AEMO said average NEM wholesale electricity prices fell 47% year-on-year to $74/MWh; Victoria saw the biggest drop at 60% to $56/MWh. The release also noted 17 proposed data center projects with a combined maximum connection capacity of 9 GW progressing through transmission connection processes, and said east coast gas prices fell to $9.08/GJ.