Welcome to IEA Wind Member Country Activities for Australia

Aided by world class resources, such as the Roaring Forties winds in the south of the continent, wind energy makes a significant contribution to Australia’s clean energy mix and now supplies over 5,000 GWh annually - around 2% of the nation’s overall electricity needs. Government support, such as the Renewable Energy Target (RET), is crucial in supporting investment in the industry over the next decade and enabling wind to play a major role in helping Australia transition to a low carbon economy.

The RET scheme commenced on 1 January 2010, mandating that 20% of Australia’s electricity supply will be sourced from renewable energy by 2020. Its target is four times that of the previous mandatory renewable energy target (MRET) which was introduced in 2001.

The RET is expected to unlock more than 20 billion AUD (14.68 billion euro; 19.74 billion USD) in investment over the next decade, but has experienced teething problems over the last two years. Low prices for tradable renewable energy certificates (RECs) coupled with the global financial crisis and policy uncertainty around a price on carbon made it challenging for many developers to secure financing for new projects. Recent changes made to the implementation of the enhanced RET should go a long way toward returning some stability to the sector.

At the close of 2010 Australia had 54 wind farms with a total operating wind capacity of 1,880 MW. Three new projects were commissioned in 2010, adding 167 MW of capacity to the Australian electricity grid. Another eight projects were under construction by the end of 2010 and are expected to contribute an additional 1,047 MW within the next few years. A further 14,000 MW of projects currently proposed for Australia are either in the evaluation phase or undergoing the development approval process.