Renewable investment tipped to outlive subsidies but growing pains remain

Strong investment in wind and solar power will continue beyond the era of government incentives, the Clean Energy Regulator has predicted, saying a second wave can be unlocked if the electricity grid is upgraded quickly.

The Clean Energy Regulator expects another 6000 to 6500
megawatts of renewable energy to be delivered in 2020.

The government's renewable energy target stimulated investment in solar and wind projects by requiring energy generators and retailers to ensure 33,000 gigawatt hours of Australia's electricity came from renewables by 2020.

Investment in renewables jumped 24 per cent last year, with 6300 megawatts added into the national energy market, which has a total generating capacity of about 55,000 megawatts.

The regulator expects another 6000 to 6500 megawatts of renewable energy to be built in 2020, without the renewable energy target and despite the strain the increasing amount of intermittent wind and solar is putting on the grid.

Read the story from The Age by Mike Foley - “Renewable investment tipped to outlive subsidies but growing pains remain.”