Increase in large-scale renewable energy power station capacity and generation
The total additional capacity of new large-scale renewable energy power stations accredited in 2016 was 494 megawatts.
This is an increase on the 300 megawatt capacity of large-scale renewable energy power stations accredited in 2015.
The combined capacity of all large-scale renewable energy power stations under the Renewable Energy Target is now 14 15727 megawatts.
2016 fast facts
There was a 64 per cent increase in accredited capacity in 2016 compared to 2015.
Capacity increased year-on-year for wind. The smaller number of wind farms continues to contribute a greater proportion of the overall capacity.
Solar has a lower capacity factor28 than wind, meaning more needs to be built to generate an equivalent amount of renewable source electricity.
Figures for graph 1 - Growth in the number of accredited large-scale renewable energy power stations
| Year | Biomass | Hydro | Solar | Waste coal mine gas | Wind | Total cumulative number |
|---|
| 2011 | 129 | 100 | 49 | 0 | 58 | 336 |
| 2012 | 136 | 100 | 60 | 7 | 65 | 368 |
| 2013 | 140 | 101 | 71 | 7 | 75 | 394 |
| 2014 | 146 | 107 | 102 | 7 | 79 | 441 |
| 2015 | 149 | 107 | 144 | 7 | 82 | 489 |
| 2016 | 153 | 110 | 230 | 7 | 87 | 587 |
Figures for graph 1 - Growth in the cumulative capacity of accredited large-scale renewable energy power stations
| Year | Biomass | Hydro | Solar | Waste coal mine gas | Wind | Total cumulative capacity |
|---|
| 2011 | 1,403.930 | 7,593.701 | 10.428 | 0 | 2,567.835 | 11 576 |
| 2012 | 1,416.095 | 7,593.701 | 24.858 | 173.26 | 3,031.660 | 12 240 |
| 2013 | 1,420.142 | 7,601.151 | 28.090 | 173.26 | 3,829.670 | 13 052 |
| 2014 | 1,423.887 | 7,611.159 | 58.316 | 173.26 | 4,096.800 | 13 363 |
| 2015 | 1,437.107 | 7,611.159 | 232.561 | 173.26 | 4,209.565 | 13 664 |
| 2016 | 1,444.647 | 7,614.059 | 350.919 | 173.26 | 4,574.590 | 14 157 |
Accredited large-scale renewable energy power stations have reported generation of about 18.3 million megawatt hours of renewable energy above their baselines for the 2016 year. This is an increase on the 16 million megawatt hours reported as generated above baseline in 2015. However, this number is expected to increase progressively as they have up to 12 months to report the generation and create the certificates.
Footnotes