Clean energy investment in Australia continues to grow
9 May 2011
The Australian renewable energy industry is expected to benefit from A$36 billion of investment by 2020, according to recent Bloomberg New Energy Finance (NEF) forecasts.
Up to A$28 billion of investment will be large-scale utility projects such as wind and solar farms to meet government targets, with A$8 billion for household and business rooftop solar systems.
The Federal Government has set a target for 20 per cent of electricity to be generated by renewable power by 2020. With the falling costs of clean energy, investment in this area is set to continue an upward trend.
The Clean Energy Council reports that 17 new large-scale renewable energy power plants became operational in 2010. A total of 332 power plants (larger than 100 kW) were in operation in Australia by October 2010.
According to the Council, the growth in household solar power between January and October 2010 exceeded the sum total of every other calendar year in the history of the Australian solar industry. Since 2008, there has been more than a ten-fold increase in the amount of solar power installed.
Bloomberg also noted in their forecasts that in 2010, over A$4 billion was invested in renewable energy in Australia.
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