Australia to add over 7GW of renewable energy by the end of 2024

The CER also said 1.5GW of large-scale renewable power station capacity was approved in the first half of 2024, and 2.5GW of applications were under assessment at the end of Q2 2024.

In the first half of 2024, final investment decisions for large-scale renewables continued to increase. A total of 1.8GW of capacity reached a final investment decision, surpassing the 1.6GW that reached a final investment decision in 2023.

Rooftop solar PV to overtake coal-fired power this decade

In what has proved a successful year for utility-scale renewable energy installations, rooftop solar PV also continues to storm ahead in the Australian market. Indeed, coverage from PV Tech last week (20 September) revealed that rooftop solar PV could overtake coal-fired power stations by the end of the decade.

Indeed, the non-profit organization Climate Council signaled that Australia, the global leader in rooftop solar PV installations, could add a further 26.4GW by the end of the decade, bringing its total to 49.4GW.

Australia currently has around 3.6 million households with rooftop solar PV installed, granting households an average annual savings of around AU$1,500 (US$1,021). Collectively, this means Australian households are saving around AU$3 billion per year.

Monthly installation rates for solar PV continue to sit above the 250MW mark in Australia, with August seeing 277MW installed, according to solar consultancy SunWiz. This was a 7% month-on-month decrease on the figures observed in July, where 302MW was installed, achieving a record level for the mid-year interval.

Australia has the potential to install around 103GW of rooftop solar PV, which is four times the current capacity. This is 1.5 times the capacity of the utility-scale electricity generators in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM), which powers the entire east coast, South Australia, and Tasmania.