australian renewables sector facing “alarming” slowdown
australia’s large-scale renewables industry saw a “significant downturn” in investment in 2023 despite the country’s overall growth in the sector, according to the country’s renewable energy body the clean energy council (cec). renewables accounted for 39.4% of australia’s total electricity supply last year, up 9.7% from 2022 and a huge leap from 2017, when renewables accounted for just 17% of the country’s energy mix. additional generation capacity for the year ended on 5.9gw, up from 5gw year-on-year, the cec’s annual report published tuesday finds. 3.1gw – or more than half – of australia’s new capacity came from small-scale rooftop solar, installed on homes or business buildings. in total, 337,498 households and businesses installed rooftop solar panels, up from 315,499 in 2022, accounting for 28.5% of all renewable generation for the year. 2.8gw of new large-scale project capacity was completed and hooked up to the grid. clean energy council chief executive kane thornton said renewables had now reached a critical tipping point in the australian energy mix, adding that the industry has faced “profound change” over the last 12 months.
“2023 was also a significant year for construction and new financial commitments to utility-scale storage. twenty-seven battery projects are under construction, up from 19 at the end of 2022. investment stands at a massive $4.9 billion, up from $1.9 billion in the year prior,” thornton said.
