The Clean Energy Council released the annual ‘Clean Energy Australia Report’ in May, which is a digest of renewable energy capacity, generation, investment and jobs for the preceding calendar year.
The report found that while 2015 was a challenging year for the renewable energy sector, continued reductions in the cost of renewable energy and battery storage, combined with some policy stability, meant the year ended with much optimism.
In total, renewable energy supplied 14.6 per cent of Australia’s total electricity needs for the year, spurred on by a 20 per cent increase in wind and solar generation.
Generation from hydro in 2015 was down on 2014 due to rainfall, but renewables still made a significant contribution over the year with almost 12,000 gigawatt-hours of wind output and more than 5600 gigawatt-hours from rooftop solar PV.
The report and an infographic detailing the key findings are available at www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/cleanenergyaustralia
Progress and Status of the Renewable Energy Target report
The Clean Energy Council released the ‘Progress and Status of the Renewable Energy Target’ report in May, which details Australia’s progress towards meeting the 33,000 gigawatt-hours by 2020 goal.
The report listed projects committed since the resolution of the last review of the target in mid-2015, and found that major projects under construction had created strong momentum and increased confidence across the industry, though many more commitments would be required in order to hit the target.
For more details, click here.
New renewable energy target for Victoria
The Victorian Government announced new targets for renewable energy of 25 per cent by 2020 and 40 per cent by 2025 in June, a major boost for the renewable energy sector which will drive investment and jobs to the state.
The announcement came at a time when activity in the Australian renewable energy sector is ramping up significantly. Australia is about halfway towards meeting the 2020 Renewable Energy Target, which means many new projects will need to ink investment deals over the next couple of years. About 450 megawatts of projects have been committed nationally in the past three months alone.
The Victorian Government will support the new targets by running an auctions scheme for large-scale renewable energy projects, including a series of technology-neutral auctions, and solar auctions. The Australian Capital Territory Government has run several rounds of similar reverse auctions with positive results.
The announcement follows the Victorian Government’s commitment to zero net emissions by 2050, and shows that the state is committed to following through on its emissions reduction responsibilities and creating economic opportunities at the same time.
Australian Clean Energy Summit – speakers and program announced
Australia’s premier clean energy event, the Australian Clean Energy Summit, is coming up from 27 – 28 July in Sydney. The event brings together industry leaders, policy-makers, financiers, service providers and business leaders for two days of informative sessions and networking events with the conference theme of ‘Lead. Innovate. Transform.’
Tickets are now on sale. For more information on the speaker, agenda or to register, visit www.cleanenergysummit.com.au
