Renewable Energy News

A dramatic scaling up of renewables in the global energy mix by 2030 would increase Australia’s GDP by 1.7 per cent, improve social welfare and mitigate water shortages, according to new analysis by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Renewable Energy Benefits: Measuring the Economics, released 16 January at IRENA’s sixth assembly, finds that increasing renewable energy generation to 36 per cent worldwide would have a range of economic and social benefits in Australia and around the world. Globally, gross domestic product (GDP) would increase by up to 1.1 per cent, or roughly AU$1.9 trillion.

A 25 MW solar farm is to be built on the outskirts of Perth at a projected cost of $42 million, says Sun Brilliance, a Perth-based solar power systems integrator. The planned facility would be the largest solar power plant in Western Australia, more than double the capacity of the current titleholder, the 10 MW Greenough River Solar Farm outside Geraldton.

64GW of wind power and 57GW of solar PV was commissioned last year, a jump of nearly 30% over 2014 according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

Global total investment in clean energy also set a new record in 2015 – USD $328.9bn. This was up 4% from 2014’s $315.9bn and beat the previous all-time record set in 2011 by 3%.

What makes these figures even more impressive is the investment coincided with falling oil and gas prices; which some believed would heavily impact on renewables.

SunEdison, Inc. (NYSE: SUNE), last week announced the signing of solar power purchase agreements (solar PPA‘s) with dozens of schools that will see solar car parking canopies constructed at each facility.

The solar PPA’s involve 25 elementary, middle, and high schools in the California unified school districts of Dixon, Downey, Duarte, Livermore and Newman Crows Landing. The arrangements will save the schools involved more than USD $30 million on energy costs over the next two decades.

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