The Sunshine State has been crowned Australia’s renewable energy construction capital, home to almost half the renewable projects completed in 2018.
The Clean Energy Council has released a new report which shows that of the 38 large-scale renewable projects completed in Australia in 2018, 45 percent were located in Queensland.
“The sunshine state is living up to its name. The incredible surge in large-scale renewables investment created more than 2,000 new jobs across the state,” Climate Council’s CEO Amanda McKenzie said.
“It wasn’t just large-scale projects surging ahead in 2018, the state is also home to some of the nation’s top rooftop solar postcodes, with nearly 150 systems installed each day across the state.
“This year looks even brighter. Eighty-seven large-scale renewable energy projects are under construction or have been financially committed across Australia. More than a quarter of these will be in Queensland.
“Jumping on board the global renewables boom is a win-win for the nation. It will ensure we cut our pollution, which has been rising year on year, as well as drive investment and jobs,” said Ms McKenzie.
“Australia lacks credible climate and energy policy at a federal level, but with strong State government policies and innovative businesses we are seeing strong growth across the country in clean energy.”
The cost of new wind and solar, backed by storage, is now lower than the cost of new coal generation.
“As one of the sunniest and windiest countries in the world, imagine what we could achieve with credible policies in place,” said Ms McKenzie.
