Australia nears 1GW solar installations in 2015

Published by

Australia is a good chance to crack the ranks of the world’s top 10 solar installers in 2015, with a combined PV market of nearly 1 GW for the year, despite a flagging residential sector.

According to a new report from Green Energy Trading, and illustrated in the chart below, the beginnings of Big Solar in Australia helped boost the market to its second biggest year, with a total of 974MW installed – down from a high of 1047MW in 2012.

Around three notable large-scale solar projects (the report technically defines these as being larger than 100kW) were built this year, including the 53MW Broken Hill solar farm, the 102MW Nyngan PV plant, and the 56MW Moree Solar Farm, which is expected to come on line in 2016.

Of course, it is worth noting that most of these projects were supported by direct funding, either from the ACT government and/or from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

The report also notes that few new projects have been committed in 2016, and that the industry is running out of time to build the necessary amount of solar and wind energy projects to meet Australia’s modest 2020 renewable energy target.

As you can see in the graph below, we will need commitments of more than 3,000MW of new project capacity in 2016 alone to avoid a shortfall in RECs.


Sophie Vorrath

Sophie is editor of Renew Economy and editor of its sister site, One Step Off The Grid . She is the co-host of the Solar Insiders Podcast. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.

Share
Published by

Recent Posts

Do wind turbines make droughts worse? A new study says they do not

By mixing different air layers wind turbines can make surface air temperatures slightly warmer at…

21 August 2026

Grid battery next to Australia’s biggest solar farm nears completion, as PV curtailment eases

Large battery being built next to the country biggest solar project near completion, as grid…

21 August 2026

Not a “bunch of yokels:” City mayor lays down “no water, no REZ” demands as region turns dry

City mayor says New England renewable zone depends on state government support for major water…

20 August 2026

Wind and solar investors relieved after Greens and cross-bench win 10-year reprieve on new tax on renewables

Under pressure from all sides, Federal Labor agrees to put more of a buffer between…

20 August 2026

“Trucks, chargers, batteries and green energy:” Fortescue throws AI and data centres into mix in pursuit of real zero

Fortescue settles bill over abandoned electrolyser factory, claims to be biggest builder of solar in…

20 August 2026

A “cultural thing”: Chinese solar inverter company manager sentenced for tea bag bribe must now leave Australia

A Chinese solar energy businessman hid a $20,000 cash bribe in a gift of tea…

20 August 2026