Renewable energy continued to grow in Australia’s energy market in 2021, providing about one-third of the country’s power demands, with solar and wind generating leading the way in Victoria. According to OpenNEM data, Australia’s energy supply was supplemented with more renewables throughout the year, with clean electricity accounting for 32.2 percent of overall usage. Solar energy now has a 13.4 percent market share, while wind power has an 11.6 percent market share. Hydropower remained largely constant in 2021, contributing 7% of Australia’s energy. Possibly as Australia’s energy mix becomes increasingly green, with investments in large-scale solar and wind outnumbering those in hydro, that number could remain steady or even decline in the future.
Solar energy now has a 13.4 percent market share, while wind power has an 11.6 percent market share. Hydropower remained largely constant in 2021, contributing 7% of Australia’s energy. Solar energy now has a 13.4 percent market share, while wind power has an 11.6 percent market share. Hydropower remained largely constant in 2021, contributing 7% of Australia’s energy. Solar energy now has a 13.4 percent market share, while wind power has an 11.6 percent market share. Hydropower remained largely constant in 2021, contributing 7% of Australia’s energy. Although Tasmania remained the state with the highest total percentage of renewable energy, its solar and wind output was overshadowed by larger territories. Victoria, for example, led the way with a combined solar and wind power generation of 9767GW; New South Wales came in second with an output of 8,819GW; and South Australia rounded out the top three with 6396GW.
Australia reached new milestones for solar and wind power market share in 2021, with total generation increasing by 22% over the previous year. Coal generators also suffered a reduction in demand in Australia, as fossil fuels began to lose favour in favour of cleaner alternatives. A variety of large-scale clean electricity projects across the nation has contributed to the country’s continued expansion of renewables, with Western Australia’s Merredin solar farm being the best-performing project. Sun Energy’s Merredin solar farm had an effective capacity factor of 29.6 percent during the year, meaning it was working at full capacity nearly one-third of the time. The second and third top performing solar projects, Adani’s Rugby Run solar farm and Neoen’s Griffith solar farm, were both located in Queensland. Throughout the year, both projects had capacity factors of more than 27%.
The Badgingarra wind farm, operated by APA Group, had the best performance of any wind project in the country, with a capacity factor of 46.7 percent.
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