This year, wind energy in Australia turns 30, and boy, has it come a long way. From the first large scale wind farm (well, it was large-scale in those days), near Esperance Western Australia, this year saw construction of more than seven seriously large-scale wind farms, with more to come next year.
We thought now would be perfect time to take a look at just what wind energy could do in the years to come.
This week we launched Wind Power in Australia to celebrate 30 years of wind energy generation across the country.
The report, by the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney, found that Australia has enough onshore wind resources to power the entire country’s electricity more than 12 times over!
Wind is also the cheapest way to generate new energy, and can deliver huge economic benefits to regional communities.
Australia’s wind resources are so good we should be a world leader in wind generation, but policy uncertainty is threatening the future of the industry.
The innovation and leadership shown by state and territory governments is getting new renewables built. Our goal must be for 100% clean, affordable and reliable energy. Let’s keep going!