Renewables investment in Australia continues slow trend in Q3

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Q3 2023 was the fourth-lowest quarter for renewable projects to achieve financial commitment in Australia, since 2017. Image: CEFC

Investment in large-scale renewable projects in Australia has continued its slow trend in the third quarter of 2023 with only two new projects achieving financial commitment, according to trade body the Clean Energy Council (CEC).

Both projects involved solar PV with a combined capacity of 161MW, less than half of what Australia recorded in the previous quarter, when four projects closed financial commitments in Q2 2023 for a combined capacity of 348MW.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

In the CEC’s Renewable Projects Quarterly Report for Q3 2023, the largest project was the Munna Creek solar farm in Queensland with a capacity of 120MW, while the other one was a remote 41MW hybrid solar-wind and storage project at Jundee Mine in Western Australia.

With a combined capacity of 161MW, these two projects mark the fourth lowest total installed capacity ever recorded by the CEC, since it began tracking projects in 2017, while all three quarters of 2023 rank at the bottom five for lowest new capacity commitments since 2017.

“Calendar year 2023 is shaping up as the worst for large-scale renewable energy investment since the Clean Energy Council began tracking data in 2017,” said the CEC. The investment value for Q3 2023 was AU$150 million, and similar to the capacity volume it also represented the fourth lowest quarterly total for financial commitments since 2017.

Financially committed generation projects and capacity (by quarter) – Chart: CEC

So far this year 509MW of renewable energy projects secured financial commitments across 6 projects. This is tenfold lower than what the CEC estimated – between 5-7GW of large-scale generation per year – to be reached every year until 2030, if the Australian Government aims to reach its 82% of renewable energy target by 2030.

Moreover, the lag of projects reaching financial commitment met a similar fate in the project pipeline with only 86MW of capacity commencing construction in Q3 2023, three of which are solar PV and that includes the 41MW hybrid project in Western Australia. On the storage front, 212MW/813MWh of energy storage projects started construction in Q3.

Similar numbers for projects reaching commissioning in Q3 2023 with only one storage (250MW/250MWh) and one solar PV plant, with a 75MW installed capacity.

The latest investment numbers from the CEC showing a rather slow pace in renewables investment in Australia is in dire contrast with the Australian government’s recent backing of 32GW of renewable energy generation and energy storage, which will attempt to boost the appetite for renewables investment in the country in the coming years.

In its report, the CEC said that the average time for a solar project to go from reaching financial commitment to the final stages of commissioning takes 18 months across the states, with South Australia leading all states in terms of average, with 16 months. Overall, solar PV projects take seven months less than its onshore wind counterpart and is on par with storage.

PV Tech Power will be running a separate analysis examining the lack of investment in renewables that Australia has been suffering this year, in the upcoming edition of PV Tech Power 37, due out in December.

Read Next

September 17, 2025
For the third year in a row, self-consumption installs have fallen in Spain, with 611MW of new additions in the first half of 2025, according to a report from trade body APPA Renovables.
September 15, 2025
UNSW spin-out company Lab360 Solar has been awarded funding from ARENA to bring its drone-based PV inspection technology to market.
September 15, 2025
Australia has reached 26.8GW of installed rooftop solar at the end of the first half of 2025, according to a report from the Clean Energy Council (CIC).
September 10, 2025
The CEFC has said that a coordinated approach to transmission in Pilbara, Western Australia, could save more than AU$30 billion over 25 years.
September 9, 2025
The US is forecast to reach between US$55-60 billion in clean energy tax credit monetisation in 2025, according to a report from clean energy financing technology platform Crux.
September 9, 2025
Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM) broke records yesterday when renewables supplied 76.4% of total electricity demand, with solar power contributing nearly 60% of the record-breaking clean energy mix.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA