Australia Sees Record-Breaking Clean Energy Investment Since 2018

Clean Energy Council released its Q4 2024 Quarterly Clean Energy Investment Report, Large-Scale Renewable Generation and Storage, indicating that 2024 was best year for large-scale renewable energy investment in Australia since 2018. The island nation attracted about USD 9 billion in total capital investment in 2024.

In total, 4346 MW of new generation capacity, worth over USD 9 billion in capital value, was approved for construction in 2024. The report finds that seven new large scale renewable energy projects, representing 1598 MW of new generation capacity and USD 2.4 billion of capital investment, were financially committed in the fourth quarter of 2024.  

Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, Kane Thornton, said the strong quarterly result was in line with the pace required for Australia to hit its target of 82 per cent renewables by 2030. With a range of 6-7 GW of new generation renewable energy needing to be committed annually, an average of at least 1.5 GW of new generation projects need to be committed each quarter to meet this target, the report notes.

 

“Clean energy already powers around half of our national energy needs. We have now seen two consecutive quarters of very healthy investment activity in 2024, which is the best we’ve seen since the investment highs of 2018, when our sector was delivering on the bi-partisan Renewable Energy Target,” Thornton added. 

In the past year, energy storage investment in Australia reached an impressive USD 3.9 billion, with 4,029 MW / 11,348 MWh of new projects committed, slightly lower than the record of 4,663 MW/ 11,509 MWh set in 2023. Of this number, 870 MW / 1936 MWh belonged to the fourth quarter.  Two storage projects were commissioned in Q4 2024  worth 419 MW / 1,277 MWh, marking the first time commissioned storage projects passed the 1 GWh capacity in a single quarter.

The most significant among these projects was the Woolooga Battery Energy Storage System in Queensland, with a capacity of 222 MW and an energy output of 640 MWh, capable of nearly three hours of operation. Queensland led all states in financially committed storage projects, with the highest capacity at 370 MW and the largest energy output at 936 MWh.

The 585 MW Goulburn River Solar Farm, which was successful in securing a contract under the first round of the Capacity Investment Scheme, was one of the projects to reach a final investment decision in the final quarter of 2024. Once built, the solar farm will produce approximately 1.3TWh of renewable energy annually, powering the equivalent of 225,000 homes. 

“These results show that clean energy investment is getting back on track and it’s critical that we don’t lose focus or change direction now on a strategy that is working. Investors need stable and predictable long-term policy settings to provide them with the confidence to invest their money in these critical infrastructure assets which Australia urgently needs,” he said.    

After the lackluster performance of onshore wind in 2023, the sector bounced back in 2024 with a total of 2,218 MW reaching financial commitment. In 2024, investment commitments were approved for 1,918 MW of large-scale solar capacity in Australia, up from 1,314 MW in 2023.

At present, 88 renewable electricity generation projects have either secured financial backing or are under construction, contributing a total capacity of 13.2 GW. Additionally, 52 committed energy storage projects are in development, offering a combined capacity of 10.5 GW and an energy output of 26.3 GWh. Collectively, these projects account for a minimum capital investment of USD 36.5 billion.

Since 2017, a total of 223 renewable generation and storage projects have been completed, adding 17 GW of electricity generation capacity and 2.1 GW / 3.7 GWh of energy storage. These completed projects represent an estimated capital investment of at least USD 33.5 billion.