Australia's Energy Exports Hit 10-Year Low as Solar and Wind Output Rises

Australia's physical energy exports fell to their lowest level in a decade during the 2024–25 financial year, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on October 29.

The volume of energy resources shipped overseas fell 3.1% from the preceding year. Black coal remained the country's largest energy export, but its volume fell 1.1%, while liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports declined 2.2% under the ABS account. The measure covers physical energy commodities including coal, LNG, uranium and crude oil; it is not the monetary value of exports, which can change independently as commodity prices fluctuate.

The decline in exported resources contrasted with growth in domestic renewable energy production. The ABS said renewable production increased by almost 10% in 2024–25, following a rise of approximately 5% the previous year. Solar production grew 11% and wind production increased 15%. Solar remained Australia's largest renewable energy source under the statistical series described in the release.

The ABS also reported that renewable electricity produced nationally was nearly 40% greater than electricity from renewable sources used by households. This comparison is not a measure of renewables' share of all Australian electricity generation: businesses and industry also consume electricity, and the figures describe different sides of the energy system.

Separate Australian government energy statistics offer a broader context. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water reports that total energy production fell 0.9% to 18,871 petajoules in 2024–25. Coal accounted for 61.3% of production and natural gas 31.8%. Australia remained a major net energy exporter, with net exports amounting to more than two-thirds of production.

The department's energy-trade dataset also reports that 88.9% of black-coal energy production, 73.8% of natural-gas production and 95.7% of crude-oil production was exported during 2024–25. Its LNG series shows a 1.8% fall, citing cyclone disruptions and the retirement of a processing train in Western Australia. This differs from the 2.2% figure in the new ABS announcement; the two statistical presentations should not be treated as interchangeable.

On the demand side, the ABS reported that household energy use rose 0.3% in 2024–25, while energy use per person had declined 16% over the previous decade. Petrol, electricity and natural gas remained the principal energy products used by households.

The figures show Australia continuing to depend heavily on fossil-fuel production and exports even as solar and wind output expands. They do not establish the direction of future energy prices, export revenue or greenhouse-gas emissions.