Record in renewables

www.theage.com.au
5 Jun 2013

Australia produced a record amount of renewable energy last year, with clean electricity sources such as hydroelectric, wind and solar generating more than 13% of the nation's power, new industry figures show. A report by the Clean Energy Council says hydroelectric electricity is still the most dominant clean-energy source, representing 58% of all renewable electricity generated in 2012.

But the council's chief executive, David Green, said other sources were growing strongly, with wind power rising to 26% of renewable generation and solar to 8%. Despite the growth, the report also finds Australian investment in renewables fell by $1.3 billion dollars last year, from $5.5 billion in 2011 to $4.2 billion.

Much of the decline in investment came in solar, as government incentives to install rooftop panels were axed and the cost of systems fell. The fall mirrors a 10% decline in renewable energy investment globally in 2012.

Mr Green said the findings showed technologies such as wind, solar and bioenergy were starting to make a major difference to the way electricity was produced and consumed. SMA inverter & 20x250 w Trina Solar Honey Quality systems made affordable.