Australia adds 514 MW of renewables under RET in a single month

Large-scale renewable power plants with a combined capacity of 514 MW have been accredited under Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) in July, the Clean Energy Regulator said Friday.

These add to the over 1.2 GW of assets accredited in the first half of the year. In just seven months, RET capacity additions in 2018 have already increased significantly over 2017’s record of 1,088 MW.

The 514 MW in July include 395 MW of solar power capacity, the highest level accredited in a single month since the start of the scheme, the regulator pointed out. The biggest utility-scale project accredited last month was the 138-MW Darling Downs Solar Farm in Queensland.

When a power plant gets accredited under Australia's RET it starts getting large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) for the power it produces. "Liable entities" have to buy these certificates. LGC spot prices ranged between AUD 76 (USD 55.6/EUR 47.9) and AUD 89 apiece in 2017, closing the year at AUD 85.25.

At the end of July, 7,854 MW of large-scale renewable energy power plants in Australia were under construction or operating. In addition, 781 MW of projects had power purchase agreements (PPAs) in place.

Last month, 207 MW of solar projects reached financial close, including the 105-MW Nevertire Solar Farm in New South Wales.

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