A new report into Australia's energy use has found production from renewables reached record highs in all mainland states last year, while gas energy generation fell to its lowest level in more than 15 years.
Victoria experienced the biggest jump in renewable energy generation feeding into the National Electricity Market, increasing 30 per cent on the year prior.
NSW experienced the second-largest increase, followed closely by Western Australia.
Excluding the ACT, which reached its 100 per cent renewable electricity target in 2020, South Australia continued to lead the nation on the mainland, with 66 per cent of its electricity generated from renewable sources.
The Climate Council report found renewables provided five times more power into Australia's largest grid than gas did in 2021.
More than 31 per cent of the country's electricity from the national supply was sourced from renewables, while just 5.7 per cent was produced from gas.
Gas's decline came despite there being almost no change in electricity demand, according to the Climate Council.
Economically, socially, obviously environmentally and employment-wise, it makes sense.
Will Steffen
Climate Councillor Professor Will Steffen said the findings demonstrated the Morrison government's plan for a gas-led recovery should be scrapped.
"The writing is on the wall; we're moving toward renewables and it doesn't make sense to try to keep propping up fossil fuels at this point," Professor Steffen said.
Professor Steffen said political ideologies and vested interests were getting in the way of a transition to cheaper, cleaner alternatives.
"Unlike in the UK, where there is broad acceptance of decarbonisation across the political parties, here, of course, it's become a political football," he said.
Professor Steffen added that while the ACT didn't have to contend with the interests of fossil-fuel producers, states like Queensland and NSW were having more of a problem decarbonising.
"Even though economically, socially, obviously environmentally, and employment-wise, it makes sense to get out of fossil fuels, it's more difficult in those states because of the political power and the vested interests," he said.
As part of their 2020 election campaign, the ACT Greens announced their ambition for the territory to be free of fossil-fuel gas by 2040. The transition ambition included a plan to ban gas connections to new suburbs from 2021.
Climate Councillor Greg Bourne said gas could not compete with renewable energy, which was bringing down power prices.
"We're also seeing a similar clean-energy trend on the other side of Australia, in WA's largest grid, which for the first time ever in 2021 saw renewables overtake gas to become the state's biggest source of power," Mr Bourne said.
"This is incredibly significant considering renewable energy generation has more than doubled in WA in just three years.
"Gas is expensive, polluting, and diminishing in importance and relevance as the rest of the world moves towards net zero, and our own states and territories rapidly roll out large-scale renewable energy and storage."
