OnlyFacts references an ‘unofficial’ renewable energy target of 82% by 2030.
The Clean Energy Council published a thorough breakdown of the origin and evolution of this target.
In short, Australia's ‘ambition’ to achieve 82% renewable electricity generation by 2030 emerged from modelling for the ALP ahead of the 2022 Federal Election. The analysis looked at the Rewiring the Nation policy, which involved investing billions in electricity transmission projects.
“RepuTex predicted that the successful implementation of this policy would increase overall renewable generation in the National Electricity Market (NEM) to 82 per cent by 2030,” wrote Rhys Thomas for the Clean Energy Council.
“82 per cent of the NEM was thus calculated as a beneficial outcome of the Rewiring the Nation policy rather than reverse (i.e. the policy being presented as a means to achieve a specific renewable target).”
This figure, however, has become a de facto target.
The Australian Energy Market Operator's Integrated System Plan forecast 83% renewable generation in the NEM by 2030-31, aligning with the earlier modelling.
States and territories have generally avoided committing to their own renewable energy targets. For consistency, OnlyFacts is comparing all state and territory progress against the national goal.