physics

Mandatory renewable energy target

Mandatory renewable energy target is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mandatory renewable energy target rather than just read about it. In short: Mandatory renewable energy targets are part of government-legislated schemes which require electricity vendors to source specific amounts of aggregate electricity sales from renewable energy sources according to a fixed time frame. The objective of these schemes is to promote renewable energy and decrease dependency on fossil fuels.

Key takeaways

Mandatory renewable energy target belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mandatory renewable energy target to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mandatory renewable energy target from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mandatory renewable energy targets are part of government-legislated schemes which require electricity vendors to source specific amounts of aggregate electricity sales from renewable energy sources according to a fixed time frame. The objective of these schemes is to promote renewable energy and decrease dependency on fossil fuels. If this results in an additional expenditure of electricity, the additional cost is distributed across customers by increases in other tariffs. The cost of this measure is therefore not funded by the government budgets, except for costs of establishing and monitoring the scheme and any audit and enforcement actions. As the cost of renewable energy has become lower than that of other sources, meeting and exceeding a renewable energy target will also reduce the expenditure of electricity to consumers.

Country Participation At least 67 countries have renewable energy policy targets of some kind. In Europe, 28 European Union members states and 8 Energy Community Contracting Parties have legally binding renewable energy targets. The European-Union target is 42.5% by 2030 . The United States does not have a federally-mandated target, but several states do . Canada has set goals for 2035 and 2050 . China's 15th five-year plan aims for increased use of non-fossil-fuel energy sources by 2030 . Around the world, targets are typically for shares of electricity production, but some are defined as by primary energy supply, installed capacity, CO2 emissions, or otherwise.

Overview

Renewable energy technologies are essential contributors to the energy supply portfolio, as they contribute to world energy security, reduce dependency on fossil fuels, and provide opportunities for mitigating greenhouse gases. The International Energy Agency has defined three generations of renewable energy technologies, reaching back over 100 years:

First-generation technologies emerged from the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century and include hydropower, biomass combustion, geothermal power and heat. These technologies are quite widely used. Second-generation technologies include solar heating and cooling, wind power, modern forms of bioenergy, and solar photovoltaics. These are now entering markets as a result of research, development and demonstration (RD&D) investments since the 1980s. Initial investment was prompted by energy security concerns linked to the oil crises (1973 and 1979) of the 1970s but the enduring appeal of these technologies is due, at least in part, to environmental benefits. Third-generation technologies are still under development and include advanced biomass gasification, biorefinery technologies, concentrating solar thermal power, hot-dry-rock geothermal power, and ocean energy. First-generation technologies are well established. However, second-generation technologies and third-generation technologies depend on further promotion by the public sector. The introduction of mandatory renewable energy targets is one important way in which governments can encourage the wider use of renewables.

Targets by country

Australia

In 2001, the federal government introduced a Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) of 9,500 GWh of new generation, with the scheme running until at least 2020. This represents an increase of new renewable electricity generation of about 4% of Australia's total electricity generation and a doubling of renewable generation from 1997 levels. Australia's renewable energy target did not cover heating or transport energy like Europe's or China's, Australia's target was therefore equivalent of approximately 5% of all energy from renewable sources. An Expanded Renewable Energy Target was passed on 20 August 2009, to ensure that renewable energy obtains a 20% share of electricity supply in Australia by 2020. To ensure this, the Labor government committed that the MRET will increase from 9,500 gigawatt-hours to 45,000 gigawatt-hours by 2020. The scheme was to continue until 2030. After 2020, the proposed Emissions Trading Scheme and improved efficiencies from innovation and manufacture was expected to allow the MRET to be phased out by 2030. The target was criticised as unambitious and ineffective in reducing Australia's fossil fuel dependency, as it only applied to generated electricity, but not to the 77% of energy production exported, nor to energy sources which are not used for electricity generation, such as the oil used in transportation. Thus 20% renewable energy in electricity generation would represent less than 2% of total energy production in Australia. In 2011 the 'expanded MRET' was split into two schemes: a Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) of 41,000 GWh for utility-scale renewable generators, and an uncapped Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme for small household and commercial-scale generators. Following the 2014 Warburton Review initiated by the Abbott government, and subsequent negotiations with the Labor Opposition, in June 2015 the LRET target was reduced to 33,000 GWh. As of October 2025 the 33,000 GWh annual target remains in place. Based on this annual target there has been a goal set to achieve 82% renewable energy generation by 2030, however, the government has no official law mandating this. Individual Australian states and territories have also set their own targets, such as Victoria with a 95% by 2035 target, and the ACT of 100% renewables by 2020 (achieved in 2019). In October 2025, Queensland's Liberal National Government repealed the former Labor government's target of 80% renewables by 2035. Similar changes occurred in the Northern Territory where in March 2025 the Country Liberal Party scrapped a target of 50% renewables by 2030 set by the previous Labor government in 2016, despite having supported this target whilst being in opposition.

United States

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Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mandatory renewable energy target

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mandatory renewable energy target claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mandatory renewable energy target before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mandatory renewable energy target ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mandatory renewable energy target

In research: Mandatory renewable energy target appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mandatory renewable energy target in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mandatory renewable energy target is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Renewable energy policy, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mandatory renewable energy target outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mandatory renewable energy target in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mandatory renewable energy target means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mandatory renewable energy target out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mandatory renewable energy target in simple terms?

Why does Mandatory renewable energy target matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mandatory renewable energy target?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mandatory renewable energy target.