Solar and Wind Will Supply Nearly One-Third of Australia’s Electricity by 2030

Renewable energy will provide one-third of Australia’s electricity in the country’s populous eastern and southern states by 2020, according to a new analysis by Green Energy Markets, an energy research group. This represents an almost doubling of the share of renewable energy in the region compared to 2015, when it supplied just 17.3 percent of annual electricity consumption.

The analysis examines existing solar and wind energy capacity, as well as projects under construction or in development, in Australia’s National Electricity Market, a cross-state grid that currently includes Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia. These areas are home to roughly 90 percent of Australia’s population.

Green Energy Markets predicted that by 2030, renewable energy would account for 40 percent of electricity generation in the National Electricity Market, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The research group’s forecast comes after another record month for small-scale photovoltaic installation in Australia, with 19,000 new rooftop systems, representing 131 megawatts of solar power, installed in May. Last month, existing renewable energy in Australia avoided 2.4 million tons of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of taking 9.2 million cars off the road.