Many countries and territories have installed significant solar power capacity into their electrical grids to supplement or provide an alternative to conventional energy sources. Solar power plants use one of two technologies:
Wind power is one of the main renewable energy sources in the world. In Australia, wind power contributed 10% of the total electricity supply in 2020, and 37.5% of its renewable energy supply. Wind resource testing conditions in Australia are optimum, as abundant wind resources are located close to residential areas in the southern parts of the country and on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range in the east.
Solar power is a fast-growing industry in Australia. As of December 2022, Australia's over 3.36 million solar PV installations had a combined capacity of 29,683 MW photovoltaic (PV) solar power, of which at least 3,922 MW were installed in the preceding 12 months. In 2019, 59 solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 2,881 MW were either under construction, constructed or due to start construction having reached financial closure. Solar accounted for 12.4% of Australia's total electrical energy production in 2021.
The Mildura Solar Concentrator Power Station was a proposed 100 megawatts (130,000 hp) concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar PV system to be built at Carwarp, near Mildura, Victoria, Australia. It was proposed by Solar Systems in 2006, which was acquired by Silex Systems in 2010. A 1.5 MW demonstration plant was completed in April 2013. Construction of the larger facility was expected to commence in 2014 and be completed in 2017. However, the expansion plan was abandoned in August 2014 due to a number of factors, including low wholesale electricity prices, a lack of commitment to clean energy by the Australian government and uncertainty surrounding the Renewable Energy Target (RET) in Australia.
Renewable energy in Australia includes wind power, hydroelectricity, solar photovoltaics, heat pumps, geothermal, wave and solar thermal energy.
Energy in Victoria, Australia is generated using a number of fuels or technologies, including coal, natural gas and renewable energy sources. Brown coal, historically, was the main primary energy source for the generation of electricity in the state, accounting for about 85% of electricity generation in 2008. The amount of coal-fired power has decreased significantly with the closure in 2017 of the Hazelwood power station which supplied around 20% of Victoria's electricity, and to a lesser extent with the exit of Anglesea power station in 2015. Brown coal is one of the largest contributors to Australia's total domestic greenhouse gas emissions and a source of controversy for the country. Australia is one of the highest polluters of greenhouse gas per capita in the world.
Queensland's energy policy is based on the year 2000 document called the Queensland Energy Policy: A Cleaner Energy Strategy. The Queensland Government assists energy development through the Department of Energy and Water Supply. The state is noted for its significant contribution to coal mining in Australia. The primary fuel for electricity generation in the state is coal with coal seam gas becoming a significant fuel source. Queensland has 98% of Australia's reserves of coal seam gas. An expansion of energy-intensive industries such as mining, economic growth and population growth have created increased demand for energy in Queensland.
As of April 2020, the energy sector in Senegal has an installed capacity of 1431 megawatts (MW). Energy is produced by private operators and sold to the Senelec energy corporation. According to a 2020 report by the International Energy Agency, Senegal had nearly 70% of the country connected to the national grid. Current government strategies for electrification include investments in off-grid solar and connection to the grid.
Solar power has been growing rapidly in the U.S. state of California because of high insolation, community support, declining solar costs, and a renewable portfolio standard which requires that 60% of California's electricity come from renewable resources by 2030, with 100% by 2045. Much of this is expected to come from solar power via photovoltaic facilities or concentrated solar power facilities.
South Australia is a leader in utility-scale renewable energy generation, and also produces gas and uranium for electricity generation. Gas production is mostly concentrated in the Cooper Basin in the state's north-east. Gas is delivered from these fields by pipeline to users interstate and to Port Adelaide where it fuels three separate gas-fired power plants. Uranium is also mined in South Australia, though nuclear power generation is prohibited nationally. The Olympic Dam mine is the world's single largest known deposit of uranium and represents 30% of the world's total uranium resource. Many utility-scale wind farms and solar farms have been commissioned during the 21st century and geology with potential for geothermal energy has also been identified but is yet to be developed.
A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building-mounted and other decentralized solar power because they supply power at the utility level, rather than to a local user or users. Utility-scale solar is sometimes used to describe this type of project.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is an independent agency of the Australian federal government, established in 2012 to manage Australia's renewable energy programs, with the objective of increasing supply and competitiveness of Australian renewable energy sources.
The Australian electricity sector has been historically dominated by coal-fired power stations, but renewables are forming a rapidly growing fraction of supply.
The Bungala Solar Power Project is a solar power farm in Emeroo and Wami Kata near Port Augusta in South Australia. The first stage was connected to the grid in May 2018, and the second stage was connected to the grid in early November 2018. The project gradually reached full power in 2020.
The Sunraysia Solar Farm is a solar farm under construction south of Balranald in south western New South Wales, Australia. It is expected to be completed around the end of 2019.
Daydream Solar Farm is a photovoltaic power station developed by Edify Energy in Springlands, Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia. It uses a single-axis tracking system to follow the sun across the sky. It generates up to 180MW DC and 150MW AC.
Kiamal Solar Farm is a photovoltaic power station under construction north of Ouyen in western Victoria, Australia. Stage 1 is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. It is owned by Total Eren, a renewable energy subsidiary of TotalEnergies When completed, stage 1 at 256MW will be Victoria's largest solar farm. Construction began in October 2018. It has energy offtake agreements with Mars Australia, Flow Power and Alinta Energy.
