Solar power in Australia

Solar power is a fast-growing industry in Australia. As of September 2023, Australia's over 3.60 million solar PV installations had a combined capacity of 32.9 GW photovoltaic (PV) solar power, of which at least 3,823 MW were installed in the preceding 12 months. In 2019, 59 solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 2,881 MW were either under construction, constructed or due to start construction having reached financial closure. Solar accounted for 12.4% (or 28.6 TWh) of Australia's total electrical energy production in 2021.

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. Australia has the highest per capita solar capacity, now at more than 1kW 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 opened in 2012 with a capacity of 10 MW. 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.

Cumulative capacity – Cumulative installed PV capacity in megawatts at since 2001 (end of each calendar year).

Log graph of Cumulative installed capacity in megawatts since 2001 (end of year, or September for 2022).

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.