Home Business Energy and Utility Australia's Renewable Energy I...

Australia's Renewable Energy Investment Surges with New Projects in Q3

Energy and Utility

Investment, Solar, Kane Thornton, Australia

Business Honor
15 November, 2024

Australia's renewable energy investment soars with record solar, wind, and storage projects reaching financial commitment.

The Clean Energy Council's latest quarterly report has revealed record-breaking investment in Australian solar, wind, and energy storage capacity. Investment in Australia's renewable energy sector surges on back of 10 new large-scale solar and wind energy projects totaling 1,405 MW achieving final investment decision (FID) over the three months to September. This aggregated capacity exceeds the annual total for 2023 and represents the first occasion since late 2022 that financial commitments surpassed 1 GW in one quarter. The total value for these projects is AUD 3.3 billion (USD 2.17 billion), demonstrating strong investment in Australia's future energy.

Further, according to the report, great improvement is reflected on energy storage projects, having added eight new battery systems producing 1,235 MW/3,862 MWh, equalled financial investment. At 95%, this would surpass the investments level of 2023 and amounted to at least AUD 1.2 billion.

This spurt reflects the improving conditions of the sector according to CEC Chief Executive Officer Kane Thornton ascribing the success to efforts by government agencies and industry working on ways to alleviate long-standing challenges that face grid planning and institutional frameworks.

Australia's renewable energy capacity includes 89 projects totaling 13.9 GW under construction or financially committed, as well as 49 energy storage projects totaling 9.7 GW/24.3 GWh. Today, more than 40 percent of the nation's electricity is produced from renewable sources, and that share will continue to rise to 50 percent by the end of next year.

But Thornton said that even with this target, Australia would still need to add between 6 GW and 7 GW of renewable generation capacity annually through to 2030 to hit the federal government's goal of 82% renewables by 2030.