Why SA’s energy is being hailed as a global model

As debate continues in Australia over its energy future and the importance of renewables, some are pointing Down Under as a model for the US to follow – with praised heaped on one state, US columnist Juan Cole writes.

The government of South Australia announced recently that its wholesale electricity price fell in the fourth quarter of 2025 to $37 (US$26.22) per megawatt hour (/MWh)

That’s among the lowest wholesale electricity prices in all of the continent of Australia. The reason the price is so low is because South Australia has a lot of wind, solar and battery power, and output was high late last year. 

That price amounts to US2.6 cents per kilowatt hour. The average cost of electricity in the US is roughly US17 cents per kilowatt hour, because it is mostly generated by expensive, dirty, planet-wrecking fossil fuels.

So here’s the thing – in the third quarter of last year, the price of wholesale electricity was A$104/MWh.

That’s right. In one three-month period, the price fell by a third.

It was not a matter of usage........

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