Aussie RES projects worth USD 2.2bn reach fin commitment in Q3

Australia has registered a steady level of investment in new renewable energy projects, as evident by the fact that schemes totalling 1,405 MW and a combined value of AUD 3.3 billion (USD 2.17bn/EUR 2.03bn) reached financial commitment in the third quarter.

The cumulative capacity of the projects reaching financial closure exceeded that of the annual total for 2023 and topped the 1-GW mark for the first time since the last quarter of 2022, the Clean Energy Council (CEC) says in its latest Quarterly Renewables Report.

The largest project that secured a financial commitment in the third quarter is the 376-MW Broadsound solar farm in Queensland, followed by the 285-MW Lotus Creek wind park in the same state. In financial terms, the largest single share of investment went to the Lotus Creek project, worth AUD 1.3 billion.

Investment in energy storage projects also kept going upwards, with eight projects with a total capacity of 1,235 MW and an energy output of 3,862 MWh reaching financial closure. These projects represent a combined investment commitment of at least AUD 1.2 billion, though not all projects provide publicly available investment data.

“The increasing activity indicates that the challenging economic conditions are beginning to ease [..],” said Kane Thornton, CEC’s chief executive.

According to the report, 10 renewable energy projects of 1.2 GW in total entered the construction phase in July-September. By capacity, the list is headed by Iberdrola’s Broadsound solar park and CS Energy’s Lotus Creek wind farm.

Meanwhile, nine battery projects commenced construction in the quarter, set to add a record 1,385 MW/3,432 MWh of storage capacity. Four of them will be standalone facilities and five are attached to power generation plants.

Regardless of the positive quarterly results, CEC noted that more efforts are required to reach the national 82% renewable energy generation goal by 2030 and highlighted the need for streamlining the permitting process. It estimates that between 6 GW and 7 GW of new renewables should go online each year to achieve the target, meaning that at least 1.5 GW of projects need to be committed every quarter.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.658/EUR 0.616)

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