Emergence of large-scale solar?

Note: The Electricity Generation in Australia dashboard has been updated since this article and can be found here:

 

Large-scale solar is finally beginning to gain traction in Australia according to the most recently published Australian Government energy statistics. While there is an approximate one year lag in the release of the stats, they provide a useful yearly benchmark reference for those with a keen interest in energy (like me), the general public and as a STEM resource for developing data literacy.

Here’s the updated dashboard and I continue this article below it. You can also contribute to the discussion at the bottom of the post. Contact Perceptive Data for developing dashboards to explore your own data.

Most states continue to grow in their adoption of renewables, with strong growth observed in Victoria, from 12.3% to 15.8%. However, NSW and SA show reduced renewable generation, with NSW down by 0.1% due to an increased reliance on black coal, while SA shows increased usage of natural gas for electricity generation.

The largest growth by generation type is observed in large scale solar and while starting from a small baseline, it has grown by 50% over the past year. However this still accounts for under 0.5% of Australia’s total electricity generation.

The purpose of the interactive dashboard is to enable you to explore the electricity data for yourself, particularly to analyse the different mixes that are employed by each state.

Leave any comments or questions about the visualisation below. My intention is to continually update it when the latest energy stats are published.

Australian Energy Statistics