Rystad Energy

Australia’s utility-scale renewable energy sector is set for a record year with 3.6 GW of projects expected to complete commissioning in 2020, Rystad Energy finds. This comprises 1.96 GW in utility PV projects and 1.57 GW in wind developments, with the remaining 0.1 GW coming from batteries.

From an energy-hungry importer to a frontrunner in the decarbonization race, South Australia has set the bar high for how to efficiently transition to a low-emissions grid dominated by renewables. With wind and solar already supplying more than a half of its electricity, the state’s energy transition shows no sign of letting up. In fact, South Australia is gearing up to accelerate the pace of its clean energy transition and expand its big PV fleet as it moves toward its 2030 target of “net” 100% renewables.

Hydro Tasmania has released a white paper pushing the island state’s claims to become the Battery of the Nation via upgrades to the Victoria-Tasmania interconnector, an effort to unblock the backlog of solar and wind.

The Morrison government has extended an extra $1 billion to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in energy storage projects, transmission and distribution infrastructure and grid stabilizing technologies.

With 2019 already a record year for utility solar, wind and storage project proposals, Norwegian-based energy analyst Rystad Energy predicts Australia’s renewables boom could see coal-fired generation extinct by 2040. According to the Australian National University (ANU), the unprecedented growth in generation from wind and solar can slash Australia’s carbon emissions by 4% over the next few years, but the Clean Energy Council sees things differently.

The Australian utility-scale PV and wind industries have just gone through a record two years of construction and commissioning. More specifically, writes Rystad Energy’s David Dixon, utility-scale PV has transformed from a megawatt-scale market to one measured in gigawatts. The resultant boom in utility-scale PV in the country has attracted developers, EPCs and OEMs, from at home and across the globe.

French renewable developer Neoen’s proposed hybrid power plant in South Australia is a monster, but is it a monster we can believe in? Along with industry experts we investigate the feasibility of Neoen’s Goyder South project.

Despite what Rystad Energy analysts describe as “a few teething issues” caused by the rapid uptake of solar PV, and renewables in general, in Australia and Vietnam, the flow of proposed utility-scale solar projects in both countries looks set to continue over the coming few years.

Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy has placed Australian and Vietnamese solar markets side by side and found the Southeast Asian country has left Australia behind in terms of commissioned utility-scale PV capacity. A staggering 4,460 MW of connected PV capacity in Vietnam at the end of June came as a surprise to many.

Renewable energy investment in the APAC region, excluding China, will overtake spending on oil and gas exploration and production spending by 2020, finds Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy. And Australia is set to emerge as one of the leading investment destinations.