Australia logs $9b renewable investments in 2024

This includes seven new large scale projects.

Australia recorded its strongest year for large-scale renewable energy investment since 2018, with $9b committed in 2024, the Clean Energy Council (CEC) said.

In its latest Quarterly Clean Energy Investment Report, CECsaid a total of 4,346 megawatts (MW) of new generation capacity was approved for construction in 2024.

In the fourth quarter alone, there were seven large scale renewable energy projects. These represent 1,598 MW of new generation capacity and $2.4b of capital investment were financially committed in the last three months of 2024.

The last calendar year also saw 4,029 MW / 11,348 megawatt-hours (MWh) of new projects committed over the year and 870 MW / 1936 MWh in the fourth quarter.

One is the 585 MW Goulburn River Solar Farm, which secured a contract under the first round of the Capacity Investment Scheme. It is expected to generate 1.3 terrawatt-hours of renewable energy annually, powering 225,000 homes.

There are currently 88 renewable electricity generation projects which have either reached financial commitment or are under construction, representing 13.2 gigawatts (GW) of capacity in the pipeline. There are also 52 committed storage projects currently in development, equivalent to 10.5 GW / 26.3 gigawatt-hours in capacity / energy output.

These pipeline projects represent at least $36.5b worth of capital investment