Australia reached 3GW of installed wind energy capacity
May 13, 2015Country reaches new record in total installed wind power capacity
Australia has reached a new milestone when it comes to wind energy capacity. Though the country have been showing less support for renewable energy in recent years due to changes in the government, wind energy has managed to maintain much of its support. New wind projects have emerged over the years and many of these projects reached completion earlier this year, increasing the country’s total installed wind energy capacity by a significant margin.
3GW of total capacity achieved with the aid of newly completed projects
Australia now has 3 gigawatts of wind energy capacity, beating its previous record that was established in December of last year. Several other projects are expected to further increase this capacity in the coming years. There are 50 megawatts of wind projects currently in development in Western Australia. The majority of the country’s installed wind capacity can be found in South Australia, where some 1,066 megawatts of wind power has taken root. Victoria boasts of 1,021 megawatts of installed wind capacity.
Coasts are popular locations for wind energy projects
The majority of Australia’s wind energy projects are located near the country’s coasts, where wind are strongest. The country has shown some interested in offshore wind energy projects, which have the potential to generate more electricity than their inland counterparts, but offshore projects are notoriously expensive. The high cost of offshore projects makes them somewhat less attractive for those investing in renewable energy, though this type of wind power has become quite popular in Europe.
Wind projects are less expensive to develop than traditional power plants using fossil-fuels
Despite the Australian government withdrawing support from the renewable energy sector as a whole, wind energy may manage to continue finding support from the country. This is because building new wind energy projects has become less expensive than developing new power plants that make use of coal. The falling cost of wind energy projects is expected to make them significantly more popular in the future, especially if Australia becomes more supportive of renewable energy.