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Solar power in Australia is a fast growing industry. As of September 2022,
Australia's Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by a ...
over 3.27 million solar PV installations had a combined capacity of 28,177 MW
photovoltaic Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...
(PV)
solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
, of which at least 4,258 MW was installed in the preceding 12 months. In 2019, 59 solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 2,881 MW was either under construction, constructed or due to start construction having reached financial closure. Solar accounted for 9.9% (or 22.5 TWh) of Australia's total electrical energy production in 2020. The sudden rise in solar PV installations in Australia since 2018 dramatically propelled the country from being considered a relative laggard to a strong leader by mid-2019. With an installed photovoltaic capacity of 16.3 GW at the end of 2019, Australia had the second highest per capita solar capacity at 637 watts per capita. The installed PV capacity in Australia increased 10-fold between 2009 and 2011, and quadrupled between 2011 and 2016. The first commercial-scale PV power plant, the 1 MW ''Uterne Solar Power Station'', was opened in 2011.
Greenough River Solar Farm The Greenough River Solar Farm is a 10 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power station located in Walkaway, Western Australia. When it opened in October, 2012, it was the country's first utility-scale solar farm. It remained Australia's largest solar P ...
opened in 2012 with a capacity of 10 MW.Australia's Greenough River Solar Farm Opens Amid Renewable Target Debate
Reuters, Rebekah Kebede, 9 October 2012
The price of photovoltaics has been decreasing, and in January 2013, was less than half the cost of using grid electricity in Australia. Using solar to supply all the energy needed would use less than 0.1% of land. Over 90% of solar panels in Australia are made in China.


Installations by type

The largest share of solar PV installations in 2018 was from grid-connected distributed sources totalling 8,030 MW. These are rooftop systems in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. For the purposes of the data, residential grid connect are systems <9.5 kW, commercial are systems between 9.5 and 99.9 kW and industrial are 100 kW to 5 MW. Grid connected-centralised plants was the next largest sector in 2018 with 3,272 MW installed, representing utility scale ground mounted solar with a power rating > 5 MW. Off-grid solar PV was the smallest segment at 284 MW in 2018. Growth accelerated dramatically during 2018 in both rooftop distributed solar and utility-scale solar which became a significant component by the end of the year. By year end 2018, Australia had 1.96 million residential rooftop solar systems and 78,000 commercial and industrial rooftop solar systems, for a total of 2.04 million total rooftop PV systems. Over 200,000 were installed in 2018 alone and the country was on track to install as many again in 2019. Australia leads the world in residential uptake of solar, with a nation-wide average of free-standing households with a PV system at over 20%. By early 2020, Australia had 10.7 GW of rooftop solar in 2.4 million systems. By 2021, Australia had 13 GW of rooftop solar. Where new inverters (solar or batteries) are installed, they are required to have certain functions such as low voltage ride through and grid support to handle local grid issues and improve power quality. As per AS/NZS 3000 ''Wiring Rules'' assembly performed without a licensed electrician must be extra low voltage setups not exceeding 50 V AC or 120 V ripple-free DC.


Potential


Insolation potential

Australia has an abundance of solar energy resource that is likely to be used for energy generation on a large scale. The combination of Australia's dry climate and latitude give it high benefits and potential for solar energy production. Most of the Australian continent receives in excess of per square metre per day of
insolation Solar irradiance is the power per unit area (surface power density) received from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the measuring instrument. Solar irradiance is measured in watts per square metre (W/m ...
during winter months, with a region in the north exceeding per square metre per day. Western and Northern Australia have the maximum potential for PV production. Insolation greatly exceeds the average values in Europe, Russia, and most of North America. Comparable levels are found in desert areas of northern and southern Africa, south western United States and adjacent area of Mexico, and regions on the Pacific coast of South America. However, the areas of highest insolation are distant to Australia's population centres.


Roof top solar potential

According to The Institute for Sustainable Futures, the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Australia has the potential to install 179 GW of solar power on roofs across the nation. At the end of 2018 Australia had just over 8 GW of rooftop solar. Even though Australia had a world-leading solar uptake, the study found the country was using less than 5% of its potential capacity for rooftop solar as of June 2019. According to the study, the combined annual output from rooftop solar could theoretically reach 245 TWh, more than the current annual grid consumption of just under 200 TWh per year.


Incentives


Rebates

The Solar Homes and Communities Plan was a rebate provided by the Australian Government of up to A$8,000 for installing solar panels on homes and community use buildings (other than schools). This rebate was phased out on 8 June 2009, to be replaced by the Solar Credits Program, where an installation of a solar system would receive 5 times as many Renewable Energy Certificates for the first 1.5 kilowatts of capacity under the Renewable Energy Target (see below). Schools were eligible to apply for grants of up to A$50,000 to install 2 kW solar panels and other measures through the National Solar Schools Program beginning on 1 July 2008, which replaced the Green Vouchers for Schools program. Applications for the program ended 21 November 2012. A total of 2,870 schools have installed solar panels. The output of each array can be viewed, and compared with that of up to four other schools. Victorian state government is assisting homeowners and tenants by providing a rebate of up to $1,888 and an interest-free loan of an equivalent amount to their Solar PV panel rebate amount. The Australian Government has financial incentives for installing solar systems in the form of Small- Scale Technology Certificates, also referred to as STC's. Australia is broken up into 4 zones and depending on the zone he lives, the applicant will receive a certain number of STC's per kilowatt for an eligible solar system. Each STC is worth $35 - $40 AUD and amounts to a saving of about 25 – 30%. This government rebate on solar brings the cost per Watt from $1.56 down to $1.12. This government initiative is set to slowly phase out giving a reduced number of STC's each year per kW installed until the initiative ends on 31 Dec 2030. The number of Small-scale Technology Certificates to be issued is calculated based on the following formula: System size in kW x Deeming period year x Postcode zone rating. Similar incentives are available to residents in some states for the installation of solar batteries and solar hot water systems.


Feed-in tariffs and direct action

A number of states have set up schemes to encourage the uptake of solar PV power generation involving households installing solar panels and selling excess electricity to electricity retailers to put into the electricity grid, widely called "feed-in". Each scheme involves the setting of feed in tariffs, which can be classified by a number of factors including the price paid, whether it is on a net or gross export basis, the length of time payments are guaranteed, the maximum size of installation allowed and the type of customer allowed to participate. Many Australian state feed-in tariffs were net export tariffs, whereas conservation groups argued for gross feed-in tariffs. In March 2009, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) started a solar gross feed-in tariff. For systems up to 10 kW the payment was 50.05 cents per kWh. For systems from 10 kW to 30 kW the payment was 40.04 cents per kWh. The payment was revised downward once before an overall capacity cap was reached and the scheme closed. Payments are made quarterly based on energy generated and the payment rate is guaranteed for 20 years. In
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, a solar feed-in tariff was introduced for households and an educational program that involved installing solar PV on the roofs of major public buildings such as the Adelaide Airport, State Parliament, Museum, Art Gallery and several hundred public schools. In 2018, the Queensland government introduced the Affordable Energy Plan offering interest free loans for solar panels and solar storage in an effort to increase the uptake of solar energy in the state. In 2008
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
Mike Rann Michael David Rann, , (born 5 January 1953) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and Australian am ...
announced funding for $8 million worth of solar panels on the roof of the new Goyder Pavilion at the Royal Adelaide Showgrounds, the largest rooftop solar installation in Australia, qualifying it for official "power station" status. South Australia has the highest per capita take up of household solar power in Australia.


Renewable energy targets

In 2001, the Australian government introduced a mandatory renewable energy target (MRET) designed to ensure renewable energy achieves a 20% share of electricity supply in Australia by 2020. The MRET was to increase new generation from 9,500 gigawatt-hours to 45,000 gigawatt-hours by 2020. The MRET requires wholesale purchasers of electricity (such as electricity retailers or industrial operations) to purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs), created through the generation of electricity from renewable sources, including wind, hydro,
landfill gas Landfill gas is a mix of different gases created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill as they decompose organic waste, including for example, food waste and paper waste. Landfill gas is approximately forty to sixty percent methane, ...
and geothermal, as well as solar PV and solar thermal. The objective is to provide a stimulus and additional revenue for these technologies. The scheme was proposed to continue until 2030. After the MRET was divided into large-scale and small-scale goals in 2011 and reductions by the Abbott government, Australia has a goal of 33,000 GWh of renewable energy from large sources by 2020, or 23.5% of electricity.


Subsidy funding

The Solar Flagships program sets aside $1.6 billion for
solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
over six years. The government funding is for 4 new solar plants that produce coal plant scale power (in total up to 1000 MW - coal plants typically produce 500 to 2,000 MW). This subsidy would need additional funding from the plant builders and/or operators. As a comparison Abengoa Solar, a company currently constructing solar thermal plants, put the cost of a 300 MW plant at €1.2 billion in 2007. In 2009, the Arizona state government announced a 200 MW plant for US$1 billion.


Projects


List of largest projects

Projects with a power rating less than 100 MW are not listed.


Australian Capital Territory

A 20 MWp solar power plant has been built on 50 hectares of land in Royalla, a rural part of the
Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...
south of
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
. It is powered by 83,000 solar panels, and can power 4,400 homes. It was officially opened on 3 September 2014. It is the first solar plant facility in the Australian capital, and at the time of building the largest such plant in Australia. The facility was built by a Spanish company, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV).'Australia's largest' solar farm opens at Royalla south of Canberra
Jonathon Gul and Kathleen Dyett,
ABC News Online ABC News, or ABC News and Current Affairs, is a public news service produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Broadcasting within Australia and the rest of the world, the service covers both local and world affairs. The division of ...
, 3 September 2014


New South Wales

Solar farms in New South Wales earn significantly more for their size than solar farms in other states. Two new solar farms with capacity to produce enough energy to supply 50,000 homes are currently being developed by Hanwha Energy Australia. 2021 Amp Energy closes funding for 120MW solar project in New South Wales.


Northern Territory

There are 30 solar concentrator dishes at three locations in the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
:
Hermannsburg Hermannsburg is a village and a former municipality in the Celle district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2015 it is part of the municipality Südheide. It has been a state-recognised resort town since 1971. It is situated on the river ...
,
Yuendumu Yuendumu is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia, northwest of Alice Springs on the Tanami Road, within the Central Desert Region local government area. It ranks as one of the larger remote communities in central Australia, and has a t ...
and
Lajamanu Lajamanu, formerly known as Hooker Creek Native Settlement or just Hooker Creek, is a small town of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located around from Katherine and approximately from Darwin. At the 2016 Australian census, Lajama ...
. Solar Systems and the Federal government were involved in the projects. The solar concentrator dish power stations together generate 720 kW and 1,555,000 kWh per year, representing a saving of of diesel and of
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
. The solar power stations at these three remote indigenous communities in Australia's
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
are constructed using Solar Systems' CS500 concentrator dish systems. The project cost A$7M, offset by a grant from the Australian and Northern Territory Governments under their Renewable Remote Power Generation Program. The project won a prestigious Engineering Excellence award in 2005. The Federal Government has funded over 120 innovative small-scale standalone solar systems in remote indigenous communities, designed by Bushlight, a division of the Centre for Appropriate Technology, incorporating sophisticated demand side management systems with user-friendly interfaces.


Queensland

Over 2GW of solar farms were completed or under construction in Queensland as of 2018. The 100 MW
Clare Solar Farm The Clare Solar Farm is a solar farm located 35 kilometres south-west of Ayr at Clare in North Queensland, Australia. The 125 megawatt DC power station is owned by Lighthouse Solar. Construction commenced in 2016 and was complete by May 2018. ...
, located 35 km southwest of Ayr in north Queensland, began exporting to the grid in May 2018. The 50 MW AC
Kidston Solar Project Kidston Solar Project is a photovoltaic solar power station built on top of the former Kidston Gold Mine utilising the tailings storage facility in northern Queensland, Australia. The project consists of two solar farms, KS1 and KS2. The Kidston ...
has been built on the site of the
Kidston Gold Mine Kidston Gold Mine is a former open cut gold mine in northern Queensland, Australia. Gold was first discovered around 1907 at what was initially known as ''Oak's Rush'' and renamed to Kidston a few months later as a gold rush started. The gold w ...
. This is phase 1 of a planned solar energy and pumped storage combination. Kidston is owned by
Genex Power Genex Power () is an Australian electricity generation company. It owns the Kidston Solar Project which has been generating up to 50 MW of electricity since 2017. It is developing the associated Kidston Pumped Hydro storage using the abandoned ...
and was constructed by
UGL Limited UGL, formerly known as United Group, is an engineering company. The company provides construction, maintenance, and asset management services to the rail, resources, and infrastructure sectors, and corporate real estate, facilities management, a ...
. The Lilyvale Solar Farm, with a capacity of 130 MW AC, is under construction by Spanish companies GRS and
Acciona Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energy, produces 21 te ...
, after an EPC contract was signed with Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV). It will be located in Lilyvale, which is around 50 km northeast of
Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...
, and commercial operations are expected to start in late 2018. The Hamilton Solar Farm is a 69.0 MW DC single-axis tracking project located a few kilometres north of Collinsville in
North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...
. Its owners are Edify Energy and
Wirsol WIRSOL Solar AG () is an international solar energy provider, specialized in the planning, financing, construction and maintenance of solar power plants of any size. The headquarters of the company is in Germany. Further company offices are loca ...
. The solar farm came online in July 2018. There are 2 more solar projects under construction by Edify Energy in Collinsville due to come on line in late 2018. The Hayman Solar Farm which is a 60.0 MW DC single-axis tracking project and the Daydream Solar Farm which is a 180.0 MW DC single-axis tracking project. Barcaldine solar farm is a 2 * 10 MW AC single-axis tracking project located within 10kms of
Barcaldine, Queensland Barcaldine () is a rural town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Barcaldine Region in Queensland, Australia. This is the administrative centre of the Barcaldine Region. Barcaldine played a major role in the Australian labou ...
.
Barcaldine Power Station The Barcaldine Power Station is a combined-cycle power station in Barcaldine, Queensland. Its NEMMCO registered capacity as of January 2009 was 55 MW. According to the Geoscience Australia database, it is also known as the Len Wishaw power stat ...
open-cycle Gas Turbine power station in
Barcaldine, Queensland Barcaldine () is a rural town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Barcaldine Region in Queensland, Australia. This is the administrative centre of the Barcaldine Region. Barcaldine played a major role in the Australian labou ...
built by Energy Equity Corporation, with the gas turbine being completed in 1995 and the steam turbine added in 1999. Currently listed with AEMO with a capacity of 37MW.


South Australia

Bungala Solar Power Project north of
Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...
is the first grid-scale facility in South Australia. Stage 1 is rated at 110 MW. It has a contract to provide electricity to
Origin Energy Origin Energy an ASX listed public company with headquarters in Sydney. It is a major integrated electricity generator, and electricity and natural gas retailer. It operates Australia’s largest coal-fired power station at Lake Macquarie, New ...
.
Sundrop Farms Sundrop Farms is a developer, owner and operator of high tech greenhouse facilities which grow crops using methods which reduce reliance on finite natural resources when compared to conventional greenhouse production. Sundrop Farms opened its first ...
concentrated solar power plant Concentrated solar power (CSP, also known as concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal) systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver. Electricity is generated when ...
has a generating capacity of 40 MW, and is the first of its kind to be commissioned in the state. It was completed in 2016. A floating array of solar PV panels is in place at Jamestown wastewater treatment plant, with a generating capacity of 3.5 MW. The largest rooftop solar PV array in South Australia was installed in 2017 at Yalumba Wine Company across three Barossa locations. Total generating capacity is 1.39 MW generating approximately 2,000 MWh per annum. Previous significant installations include Flinders University with 1.8MW across
solar carpark and building rooftops
(it ha
announced plans
for further investment to become carbon positive), Adelaide airport, with a generating capacity of 1.17 MW, and the Adelaide Showgrounds, with a generating capacity of 1 MW. The showgrounds array was the first PV station in Australia to reach a generating capacity of 1 MW and was expected to generate approximately 1,400 Megawatt-hours of electricity annually. On 29 November 2017 the state government announced a new round of finance for renewable energy projects which included a Planet Arc Power - Schneider Electric development of a $13.9m solar PV and battery project at a major distribution centre in Adelaide's North. The project includes a micro-grid management system optimising 5.7 MW of solar PV coupled with 2.9 MWh of battery storage. The
University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
will develop 1.8 MW of ground and roof mounted solar PV at its
Mawson Lakes Mawson Lakes is a residential suburb in the City of Salisbury, Adelaide, Australia. Named in honor of Sir Douglas Mawson, it has a census area population of 10,872 people. The suburb is located in the northern suburbs of Adelaide around 12  ...
campus. At the Heathgate Resources Beverley mine there are plans for a relocatable 1 MW of solar PV paired with a 1 MW/0.5 MWh battery which will be integrated with an existing on-site gas power plant. In 2019, a ground-mounted solar PV farm was constructed by AGL and commissioned by Santos at
Port Bonython Port Bonython is the location of a deepwater port, gas fractionation plant and diesel storage facility west of Point Lowly in the Upper Spencer Gulf region of South Australia. It lies 16 km east-northeast of Whyalla, South Australia and app ...
with a 2.12 MW capacity. The
Aurora Solar Thermal Power Project Aurora Solar Thermal Power Project was a planned solar power tower solar thermal power plant to be located north of Port Augusta in South Australia. It was planned to generate 150 MW of electricity after it was completed in 2020. Storage ca ...
was proposed for near Port Augusta, it was cancelled in 2019. South Australia sometimes produce more solar power than demand. Rooftop solar may be restricted to export 1.5 kW, or be managed by the grid supplier. After September 2020, South Australia requires all new facilities, including home solar, to have low voltage ride through and remote disconnect.


Victoria

The 100 MW PV Mildura Solar Concentrator Power Station, formerly expected to be completed in 2017, is now cancelled.Tom Arup
"Sunraysia's huge solar farm up and running"
in ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'', 17 July 2013
It was expected to be the biggest and most efficient solar photovoltaic power station in the world. The power station was expected to concentrate the sun by 500 times onto the solar cells for ultra high power output. The Victorian power station would have generated electricity directly from the sun to meet the annual needs of over 45,000 homes with on-going zero
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
. The Gannawarra Solar Farm is a 60.0 MW DC single-axis tracking project located west of Kerang in north-west Victoria. It is the first large-scale solar farm to be constructed in Victoria. Bannerton Solar Park, is an 88 MWAC DC single-axis tracking project located in Bannerton, southeast of
Robinvale Robinvale is a town on the south bank of the Murray River in north western Victoria, Australia. It is connected by a bridge to Euston on the other side of the river in New South Wales. At the , Robinvale had a population of 3,313, however a ...
in the
Sunraysia Sunraysia is an illdefined district, sometimes incorrectly referred to as an economic region, located in northwestern Victoria and southwestern New South Wales in Australia. The region is renowned for its sunshine, intensive horticulture inclu ...
district of
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
. It generates up to 88MW of electricity to the
National Electricity Market The National Electricity Market (NEM) is an arrangement in Australia's electricity sector for the connection of the electricity transmission grids of the eastern and southern Australia states and territories to create a cross-state wholesale elec ...
(NEM). It is funded by the
Clean Energy Finance Corporation The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is an Australian Government-owned Green Bank that was established to facilitate increased flows of finance into the clean energy sector. As a specialist investor the CEFC at the centre of efforts to hel ...
and Hanwha Energy Australia, parent company of Nectr.


Western Australia

Western Australia's first major large scale solar farm, the
Greenough River Solar Farm The Greenough River Solar Farm is a 10 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power station located in Walkaway, Western Australia. When it opened in October, 2012, it was the country's first utility-scale solar farm. It remained Australia's largest solar P ...
, is at Walkaway, 70 km SE of Geraldton. It was opened in October 2012. The 10 MW field has 150,000 solar panels. The 20 MW
Emu Downs Solar Farm Emu Downs Solar Farm is a solar farm adjacent to Emu Downs Wind Farm in Western Australia, Australia. It was developed and is owned by APA Group. At the time of its completion in 2018, it was the largest solar farm in Western Australia. When AP ...
became the largest solar farm in WA when opened in March 2018. Emu Downs Solar Farm is co-located with the
Emu Downs Wind Farm The Emu Downs Wind Farm () is a 79.2 MW wind farm in Western Australia. It was a 50:50 joint development between Griffin Energy and Stanwell Corporation. The site is approximately 200 kilometres north of Perth, near Cervantes. Construction of ...
. The largest rooftop solar PV array in Western Australia was completed in 2021 by Solgen and AGF Electrical at Ellenbrook city shopping centre, with a total generating capacity of 2.8 MW. The proposed Asian Renewable Energy Hub, combining solar and wind power, will generate up to 26
gigawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...
s of power to produce
green hydrogen Green hydrogen (GH2 or GH2) is hydrogen generated by renewable energy or from low-carbon power. Green hydrogen has significantly lower carbon emissions than grey hydrogen, which is produced by steam reforming of natural gas, which makes up the b ...
.


Solar cities program

''Solar Cities'' is a demonstration program designed to promote solar power, smart meters, and energy conservation in urban locations throughout Australia. One such location is
Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
,
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
.


Renewable Energy Master Plan 2030

The Council of Sydney is attempting to make the city run 100% on renewable energy by 2030. This plan was announced earlier in 2014 with the blueprints made public on their website. This ambitious plan was recently awarded the 2014
Eurosolar Eurosolar - European Association for Renewable Energies (Own spelling: EUROSOLAR) is a German association with headquarters in Bonn. The association has sections in 13 countries (Germany, Bulgaria, Denmark, Georgia, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, ...
prize in the category of "Towns/municipalities, council districts and public utilities".


See also

*
Solar power by country Many countries and territories have installed significant solar power capacity into their electrical grids to supplement or provide an alternative to conventional energy sources. Solar power plants use one of two technologies: * Photovoltai ...
*
Australia–ASEAN Power Link The Australia–Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) is a proposed electricity infrastructure project that is planned to include the world's largest solar plant, the world's largest battery, and the world's longest submarine power cable. A solar farm ...
* Renewable energy in Australia *
Wind power in Australia Wind power is one of the main renewable energy sources in Australia contributing 10% of Australia's total electricity supply in 2020, and making up 37.5% of it's renewable energy supply. Wind resource testing conditions in Australia are opti ...
* Geothermal power in Australia * Biofuel in Australia *
Building-integrated photovoltaics Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are photovoltaic materials that are used to replace conventional building materials in parts of the building envelope such as the roof, skylights, or facades. They are increasingly being incorporated in ...
* Centre for Appropriate Technology (Australia) *
List of countries by electricity production from renewable sources This article is a list of countries and territories by electricity generation from renewable sources every year. Note that most countries import and/or export electricity, so the percentage figure do not reflect the percentage of consumption that ...
* Photovoltaic and renewable energy engineering in Australia *
List of renewable energy topics by country This is a list of renewable energy topics by country and territory. These links can be used to compare developments in renewable energy in different countries and territories and to help and encourage new writers to participate in writing about ...
* List of solar farms in South Australia *
Australian Renewable Energy Agency The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is an independent agency of the Australian federal government, established in 2012 to manage Australia's renewable energy programs, with the objective of increasing supply and competitiveness of A ...


References


External links


Solar projects supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency

Live Solar PV map of Australia

A daily solar map of Australia from Bureau of Meteorology
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
. 17 June 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Solar Power In Australia Renewable energy in Australia Renewable energy companies of Australia Renewable energy technology