$9 billion of that was for large-scale renewable generation – the highest since the boom of 2018. The Quarterly Investment Report does show a slowdown in new financial commitments to large-scale generation, but that is consistent with recent trends where the first quarter is typically the slowest of the year.
There is cause for optimism that investment will trend upwards throughout the remainder of 2025 given the political stability and policy certainty provided by the election outcome and the impact of policies such as the Capacity Investment Scheme on new projects.
Headline figures from the Clean Energy Australia report:
2024 was the highest ever single year of investment in Australia’s renewable energy transition, at $12.7 billion.
Financial investment in large-scale renewable energy generation projects skyrocketed by 500 per cent in 2024, jumping from $1.5 billion in 2023 to $9 billion in 2024.
$5.9 billion was invested in onshore wind projects – the highest since the Clean Energy Council began reporting data in 2017.
As at the end of 2024, there was over 8.7 GW / 23.3 GWh of large-scale battery capacity under construction in Australia. That's equivalent to more than a third of energy generated by Australia’s coal-fired power stations combined.
5.2 GW of combined utility scale generation and rooftop solar capacity was added to the grid, down from 5.9 GW in 2023.
3.2 GW of rooftop solar capacity was added, just below the record in 2021.
Meanwhile, headlines from the Quarterly Investment Report: Large-scale renewable generation and storage for Q1 2025 include:
The remarkable run of investment commitments to energy storage projects continued in Q1. Six storage projects representing 1,510 MW (capacity) / 5,016 MWh (energy output) reached financial close – the second highest quarterly result for newly financially committed storage projects.
Two projects representing 386 MW of new generation capacity reached financial commitment. The large number of advanced-stage development projects suggests that investment activity should improve over the course of the year ahead.
Five generation projects were commissioned in Q1 for a total operating capacity of 756 MW. Meanwhile, two storage projects were commissioned, adding a total of 56 MW / 98 MWh of capacity/energy output.
There are currently 82 renewable electricity generation projects that have been financially committed or are under construction, representing 12,544 MW of capacity. There are also 69 committed storage projects (either standalone or hybrid projects) in this pipeline, equivalent to 12,532 MW/32,078 MWh in capacity/energy output.
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