Accreditation

In 2015 we accredited 41 new renewable power stations, comprising 37 solar, three wind and one using sewage gas and biomass-based components of sewage.

This was similar to the increase in 2014, when 47¹⁷ renewable power stations were accredited, with the majority also solar.

Number of large-scale generation certificates created

In 2015 a total of 16 463 463 large-scale generation certificates were validated¹⁸.

Graph 7 shows valid large-scale generation certificates by renewable energy source since 2011. As Graph 5 shows, the number of accredited solar power stations now exceeds the number of wind power stations. However, wind power remains the dominant source of large-scale generation certificates. The significant decline in certificates generated from hydro sources is consistent with water resource availability in this time line.

Graph 7: Valid large-scale generation certificates by renewable energy source since 2011¹⁹

In 2015, a total of 16.5 million large-scale generation certificates were validated. This is low as compared with 18.1 million large-scale generation certificates validated in 2014.

In 2015, hydro power stations generated less above-baseline electricity than the previous year as a result of lower rainfall and water releases. Consequently they created 1.7 million less certificates compared with 2014.

In contrast the number of certificates for electricity generated by wind has been increasing steadily for the last five years.

The largest percentage increase compared with previous years was from large-scale solar power generation. We expect this increase to accelerate in the coming years.

"THE TOTAL CAPACITY OF LARGE-SCALE SOLAR POWER STATIONS ALMOST TRIPLED IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS"

Footnotes

17 The Renewable Energy Target 2014 Administrative Report had 46 renewable power stations accredited in 2014. This has been revised to 47 because one renewable power station that was accredited in 2015 had an accreditation start date in 2014.

18 Some of these certificates relate to generation in 2014 and therefore the number of certificates validated differs to the megawatt hours of large-scale generation in 2015.

19 There was no waste coal mine gas generation in 2011 as it became an eligible generation source in 2012.