Solar power is a major contributor to electricity supply in Australia. As of December 2023, Australia's over 3.69 million solar PV installations had a combined capacity of 34.2 GW photovoltaic (PV) solar power. 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.
Project EnergyConnect is a new electricity transmission line under construction which will connect the South Australia and New South Wales districts of the National Electricity Market in Australia. Riverlink was a previous working title for the project, drawn from a proposal first raised in 1999. The Australian Energy Market Operator used RiverLink in its proposal for this interconnector, but the transmission companies in South Australia (ElectraNet) and New South Wales (TransGrid) now call it EnergyConnect.
Lake Bonney Wind Farm is a wind farm near Millicent, South Australia, Australia. The wind farm is south of, and contiguous with, Canunda Wind Farm. Both are built along the Woakwine Range - a line of stabilised sand dunes that once were coastal.
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.
The electricity sector in Australia has been historically dominated by coal-fired power stations, but renewables are forming a rapidly growing fraction of supply. In 2021, Australia's electricity production reached 265 TWh, with coal accounting for 52.9% and natural gas for 18.8%. Renewable sources, comprising solar, wind, hydro, and bioenergy with waste, collectively made up 26.7% of the total electricity generation mix.
The Broken Hill Solar Plant, which became operational in December 2015, is a 53 megawatt farm located near Broken Hill in western New South Wales, Australia. It is associated with the Nyngan Solar Plant, making the total capacity of the combined plants 155 megawatts.
The Hornsdale Wind Farm is an electricity generator in the locality of Hornsdale in the south-west of the Narien Range, north of Jamestown, South Australia. It consists of 99 wind turbines with a generation capacity of 315 megawatts (422,000 hp). The plant is owned and operated by Neoen, a French renewable energy company.
The Bungala Solar Power Farm is a 220 MW 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 November 2018. The project gradually reached full power in 2020.
Hornsdale Power Reserve is a 150 MW grid-connected energy storage system owned by Neoen co-located with the Hornsdale Wind Farm in the Mid North region of South Australia, also owned by Neoen.
The Lincoln Gap Wind Farm is a wind farm in the vicinity of Lincoln Gap on northeastern Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, Australia. It consists of 59 wind turbines and generates a total of 212 MW of electricity. Construction began in late 2017 and was initially expected to be commissioned in late 2018. Construction was delayed in July 2018 when unexploded ordnance was discovered on the site, left from historic military testing. The site is not far from the Cultana Training Area.
The Tailem Bend Solar Power Farm is a solar power farm near Tailem Bend in South Australia. It has 108MW of generation capacity but is limited to supplying 95MW to the national grid. An additional 85MW is proposed in stage 2. It is developed and owned by Singapore-based Vena Energy, a new name for the former Equis Energy following acquisition by Global Infrastructure Partners in January 2018. The output will be sold to Snowy Hydro for retail sale under its Lumo Energy brand. Stage 2 is also expected to provide battery storage.
Solar River Project is a proposed photovoltaic power station planned to be built near Robertstown in South Australia. The project received development approval from the Government of South Australia in June 2018 and was expected to start construction early in 2019. However, as of November 2021, the project was still proposed to be constructed, but work on site was not expected until at least the second half of 2022.
Limondale Solar Farm is a solar farm south of Balranald in southwestern New South Wales, Australia. When it was completed, it was the largest solar farm in Australia. It is owned by German company RWE through a subsidiary Belectric Solar and Battery, and was constructed by Australian engineering company Downer Group.
Colleambally Solar Farm is a photovoltaic power station near the town of Coleambally in New South Wales, Australia. It is on the western side of the Kidman Way north of the town.
Dundonnell Wind Farm is at Dundonnell, 23 kilometres (14 mi) northeast of Mortlake in the Australian state of Victoria. Construction began in January 2019 and was completed in 2020 with 80 Vestas wind turbines with a capacity to generate 336MW of electricity. The drive trains and hubs were assembled at the former Ford Australia site in Geelong.
Karadoc Solar Farm is a photovoltaic power station 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Mildura near the town of Iraak in Victoria, Australia. It can generate up to 112MW of electricity, and was designed by BayWa r.e. Solar. It was officially opened in March 2019.
The Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park is a combined wind and solar farm under construction south of Port Augusta in South Australia, Australia. The solar farm is planned to be at the northern end of the site, west of the Augusta Highway and south of Sundrop Farms. The wind turbines will be on both sides of the Augusta Highway, extending south as far as the road to Horrocks Pass. Construction formally started in October 2020 and is estimated to take about 18 months to complete. The total site is about 5,400 hectares.
