Graph of the Day: Clean energy’s big year in Australia in 2013

This graph was released by the Clean Energy Council this week, highlighting some of the impressive gains and achievements of the clean energy industry in Australia in 2013.

It is pretty much self-explanatory.

The Clean Energy Council says 2013 was a very good year for renewables, mostly because of a big bounce for hydro power in Tasmania. There is a possibility that the 2014 result could actually be slightly lower as a result.

Some of the stats from the report include:

• $5.2 billion was invested in clean energy during the calendar year, the third successive year that domestic investment has been more than $5 billion.
• Almost 1.25 million solar power systems were installed at the end of 2013, meaning more than 3.1 million Australians now live or work beneath a set of solar panels.

• Renewable energy produced 14.76 per cent of Australia’s electricity in 2013 – enough to power the equivalent of almost 5 million homes. While hydro had an extremely strong year, wind and solar power use also grew to record levels.
• Approximately 21,400 people were employed by the renewable energy industry at the end of 2013. This is several thousand fewer than the year before, mainly due to a contraction in the market for household solar power.
• The largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere, the Macarthur Wind Farm, opened in 2013. In total, Australia’s 1639 wind turbines across the country provided enough electricity to power the equivalent of 1.3 million homes.

Clean Energy Council Chief Executive David Green said both energy efficiency and renewable energy had an important role to play in building a stronger, cleaner economy, and overall 2013 represented another solid year for the uptake of these technologies.

“Last year saw another year of steady growth for solar power and wind energy in Australia, despite sustained uncertainty about the key policy settings for the sector. Australia’s renewable energy potential is massive, but we have so much more to do to fully unlock it,” Mr Green said