CSIRO releases draft of ‘2025-26 GenCost Report’ for consultation

As another stocking stuffer for your holiday reading, today (Wednesday 17th December 2025) the CSIRO has released its draft of the next iteration of the much-awaited and often debated GenCost report.

(A)  From the CSIRO

There’s a few different pieces of information, as follows:

In the Newsroom, the CSIRO has published a Media Release this morning ‘Consultation opens on the draft GenCost 2025 2026 Report’ which notes:

‘It also introduces a new method that examines the electricity generation mix and the average cost of electricity for achieving Australia’s 82 per cent renewable energy target by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050 under different electricity emission intensity scenarios.’

… and …

‘In response to stakeholder feedback a more comprehensive method has been introduced. The new system levelised cost of electricity (SLCOE) method estimates a mix of electricity generation sources and their costs, along with a new CSIRO-developed Simple Electricity Model (SEM) to apply it.

Unlike the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) metric which compared costs of individual technologies, SLCOE considers the mix of technologies and transmission that deliver the lowest-cost electricity system across varying electricity emission abatement scenarios to 2050.’

(B)  Media Headlines

A quick scan of the main media outlets reveals a number of articles:

1)  In the AFR what we have seen is as follows:

(a)  There is ‘Nuclear, offshore wind still more costly by 2050: CSIRO’ by Angela MacDonald-Smith and Ryan Cropp:

(b)  More to come?

2)  In the Australian there have been a couple articles now:

(a)  Perry Williams wrote ‘Australia’s 100pc green energy goal to eliminate emissions is ‘not feasible’, says CSIRO’.

(b)  Coincidentally, Perry Williams has also written ‘Green energy transition faces an upheaval as investment stalls and costs rise’ following a Marsden Jacobs Associates report also released this month.

3)  In the Guardian:

(a)  Graham Readfearn wrote ‘Electricity generation costs would be a third lower with 82% renewable grid, CSIRO says’.

(b)  Anything else?

4)  Via RenewEconomy:

(a)  Sophie Vorrath wrote ‘Cost of wind and batteries fall, coal and gas rise as CSIRO finds new way to show renewables are cheapest’

(b)  More to come?

5)  In the SMH/Age:

(a)  Nick Toscano wrote ‘Wind and solar, and not nuclear, the key to cheaper energy: CSIRO’.

6)  On ABC:

(a)  Did not see anything

7)  In PV Magazine:

(a)  Did not see anything

8)  In ‘The Energy’:

(a)  Marion Rae wrote ‘GenCost adds an open-source backbone’

   … no doubt there are more that I’ve not come across, yet.

(C)  Industry Organisations

Where we notice anything by the main industry organisations we’ll add references in here…

1)  To come (time permitting)

(D)  On social media

Where we notice anything particularly interesting on social media (and have the time) we’ll add references in here…

1)  Perhaps later….