In 2019, more than enough capacity was delivered to meet the 2020 target. The strong growth in large-scale renewables continued throughout 2019:
- 4.1 gigawatts delivered, an increase of 17 per cent from the previous record of 3.5 gigawatts in 2018, bringing the total accredited capacity to 22.912 gigawatts.
- 391 power stations accredited, up from 362 in 2018, with the majority being (88 per cent) solar power stations between 100 kilowatts to 5 megawatts, and
- 29.6 million large-scale generation certificates validated, a 29 per cent increase on 2018.
- 28,300 gigawatt hours of renewable energy generation, a 21 percent increase on generation in 2018.
2019 was the hottest and driest year on record13 and hydro generation decreased due to extended drought throughout Australia. Above baseline hydro generation in 2019 declined by more than 50 per cent compared to 2018. 2019 was the first year there was more wind generation in Australia than total hydro generation. The record delivery of utility-scale solar farms over recent years led to a more than doubling of solar PV generation in 2019 compared with 2018.
Figure 2: Above baseline generation by fuel source, 201–2019.
Solar panels on Ayers Rock Airport. Photo: Voyages.
Footnotes