Farmers for Climate Action (FCA) has welcomed several serious advancements towards a cleaner energy grid over the summer.
Representing 8,500 farmers, FCA Acting CEO, Verity Morgan-Schmidt, highlighted that some 50% of electricity produced on the National Electricity Market in the December 2025 quarter was clean energy
“This helped drive wholesale energy prices down to $50, a 44% drop from the previous quarter,” Ms Morgan-Schmidt said.
“New figures reveal grid-scale battery storage on the NEM nearly trebled in 2025, rising from 2.0 gigawatts to 5.38 gigawatts.”
“Australians installed an extraordinary 200,000 household batteries between June and the end of 2025 using the Federal Government’s cheaper home batteries program; some 4.7-gigawatt hours of storage. The batteries have been wildly popular in regional areas such as north-east Victoria and the north coast of NSW.”
FCA said fossil fuels contributed the least to the East Coast grid, with coal having its lowest-ever seasonal share of the mix, and gas its lowest since 2000.
“Farmers need deep emissions reductions this decade so we can keep farming forever,” Ms Morgan-Schmidt said.
“We need coal and gas out of the grid, so we’re so pleased to see the hard work starting to pay off as the grid becomes cleaner. Reducing pollution in our electricity production opens the gate for other sectors to reduce pollution, such as transport and manufacturing.
“We’ve also seen really good news with big regional businesses deciding that gas is a gamble and switching to electric. Businesses like Mars Petfood in Wodonga will be fully renewable energy powered as of this year, and Yanderra Chicken Farm in Bargo has made the switch too. Australian manufacturer Electrolux in Adelaide has switched to an electric furnace, and Domestos also decided gas is a gamble and has gone electric.
“There’s a long way to go to reduce pollution across the economy, but we’re making real progress.”