Coal Generates Less Than Half of Australian Power for First Time

The high windsthat have been lashing southeastern Australia over the past few days have pushed coal-fired power below 50% of the country’s power mix for the first time ever.

The fossil fuel accounted for 49.2% of electricity generation in the week through Monday, the first time it’s fallen below half on a weekly rolling basis, according to figures from Open-NEM, a data aggregator. Wind farms generated just over a quarter of power during the period.

Australia’s rapid shift to solar and wind generation to replace its fleet of aging coal plants has made it a global test ...