Below is a great summary from the Clean Energy Council’s Clean Energy Australia Report from 2014. They have noted some interesting facts regarding Australian companies investing in Solar Energy. This report will keep you up to date with Australia’s contribution to renewable energy in each sector. One notable point for the Solar Energy Industry in Australia, is that more than 15,000 businesses have installed a solar power system, helping them save a collective $64 million on their power bills each year.
I believe we will continue to see Australian businesses invest in Solar Energy. There are a number of factors that will drive business to make the switch to Solar:
- Electricity rates will continue to rise and place a burden on their bottom line. A solar energy system will certainly relieve some of the financial pressure on businesses as a long term investment
- There are many finance options available to make the investment on a solar energy system more commercially attainable i.e lease to buy, power purchase agreement where you can basically rent the solar energy unit and only pay for the energy you use at a lower rate than you currently pay with your energy retailer
- Climate change is an internationally pressing topic for world leaders so we will continue to see Australian consumers demanding sustainable business practices. Switching to Solar Energy improves a company’s reputation, attracts new customers and drives customer loyalty and therefore will ultimately contribute to a company’s bottom line in more ways than one, i.e. just reducing your energy bill.
Below in the summary from the Clean Energy Council website, regarding their 2014 Renewable Energy Report.
“The Clean Energy Australia Report 2014 is a comprehensive overview of Australia’s renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors, including statistics on the energy market from the past year.
The analysis on clean energy generation is some of the most comprehensive available, going beyond the National Electricity Market and taking into account all off-grid generation, as well as regional electricity grids in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
This year’s report shows more than 15,000 businesses have now installed a solar power system, helping them save a collective $64 million on their power bills every years.
13.47 per cent of Australia’s electricity came from renewable sources in 2014, enough to power 4.5 million average homes for a year. This was a fall from 14.76 per cent the year before, mainly due to lower rainfall in hydro catchment areas.
Here are some more key findings from the Clean Energy Australia Report 2014:
Last year 16,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of new renewable energy generation was produced under the RET, taking us around half way toward the revised 33,000 GWh target.
Hydro (6.2 per cent of Australia’s total power generation) still produced the most clean energy of any source, while wind power (4.2 per cent) and solar power (2.1 per cent) continued to grow.
Bundaberg in Queensland was Australia’s solar capital in 2014, followed by Mandurah in Western Australia and Hervey Bay, which is just over 100 km from Bundaberg.
Approximately 40 per cent of South Australia’s power came from renewable energy during 2014, while about 95 per cent of the electricity used by Tasmanians came from renewables. The next best was Western Australia (13 per cent).
Investment in new large-scale renewable energy fell 88 per cent in 2014 compared to the year before, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The fall was due to policy uncertainty caused by the Federal Government review of the RET.
Royalla Solar Farm, the largest in Australia at the end of 2014, was completed with support from the ACT Government.
Almost 4400 accredited installers were operating across the country at the end of 2014,
Three wind farms completed construction – Snowtown II (Trustpower, South Australia), Gullen Range (Goldwind, NSW) and Mount Mercer (Meridian, VIC)”