Value of renewable energy construction

This article presents experimental estimates for the level of investment in utility scale renewable energy generating assets from 2016 onwards.

Released

10/10/2022

Source

Engineering Construction Activity, Australia, June 2022

Introduction

Purpose

This article presents experimental estimates for the level of renewable investment in the electricity generation, transmission and distribution sector, as well as electricity generated by renewable and non-renewable sources from the March quarter 2016 to the June quarter of 2022.

Source

Investment data has been sourced from the Engineering Construction survey, which is published in Construction Work Done, Australia, Preliminary and Engineering Construction Activity, Australia quarterly publications. Data is collected under the type of work 'Energy Generation, Transmission, and Distribution', and has been broken down by type of investment for the purpose of this article. The data presented will not be available on an ongoing quarterly basis.

The generation data presented in this article has been sourced from Rystad Energy monthly generation data, which is a third-party data set compiled using AEMO (Australian Energy Market Operator) data. This data source contains data from the NEM (National Electricity Market) and WEM (Wholesale Electricity Market). It does not include generation data for NT and regional areas not connected to either of these markets.

This is not a comprehensive account of economy wide investment in renewable energy and the following considerations should be taken into account:

Rooftop photovoltaic systems make up a notable portion of renewable energy generation but are out of scope of the engineering construction survey.
Given electricity investment includes transmission and distribution data as well as generation, the information presented should not be read as an analysis of new generation projects only.
While the renewable data is primarily generation and storage investment, data pertaining to other assets includes non-generation investment such as maintaining and expanding existing transmission networks.

More detail on the scope of the data presented can be found under the 'Method' section below, or by accessing the Engineering Construction Activity methodology page.

Summary

Since 2017 there has been an increase in the level of investment in renewable generation and storage technology, which has coincided with a significant increase in renewable generation over the same period. In the 2016-17 financial year the value of work done on renewable projects was $865.9m compared to $5.51b in 2021-22. While the total power generated remained at a similar level over this period, generation from renewable sources has more than doubled. In 2016-17 energy generated from a renewable source accounted for 16.0% of all power generated, compared to 33.4% in 2021-22.

Investment in renewable generation has been impacted by various factors over the period highlighted. These include a changing regulatory environment, access to finance, grid capacity constraints and the COVID pandemic. The impact of these factors is not discussed explicitly in the analysis presented in the article however should be kept in mind when interpreting the findings.

Electricity generation, transmission and distribution investment

Total electricity investment, Australia ($m)
	Commencements		Work Done
Financial Year	Renewable Investment	Other Electricity Investment	Renewable Investment	Other Electricity Investment
2016-17	1,353.2	7,124.8	865.9	7,133.2
2017-18	7,368.4	7,926.0	4,919.0	8,050.2
2018-19	7,997.8	7,352.3	5,412.3	8,412.8
2019-20	1,874.5	6,942.7	5,342.7	7,562.4
2020-21	5,598.2	6,706.7	3,799.2	7,657.4
2021-22	3,407.2	8,986.9	5,505.5	9,173.4

There has been a significant increase in the value of both commencements and work done in renewable projects since the 2016-17 financial year, with commencements peaking in 2018-19 and work done peaking in 2021-22.

While the estimated level of work done on other electricity related assets remained relatively constant, the annual value of renewable work done increased from $865.9m in 2016-17 to a peak of $5,505.5m in 2021-22

Commencements data followed a similar but more volatile pattern. The value of renewable commencements jumped from $1,353.2m in 2016-17 to a peak of $7,997.8m in 2018-19.

Following the surge through 2017 to 2019 commencements fell sharply to $1,874.5m in 2019-20, before rebounding through 2020-2022. The fall in commencements in 2019-20 led to a 28.9% fall in the level of work done for 2020-21, decreasing from $5,342.7m to $3,799.2m.

The estimated pipeline of 'work yet to be done' on renewable projects that have commenced sits at $8,099.6m at the end of the June quarter 2022.

Value of work done, quarterly ($m)
Date	Other Electricity	Renewables	Total
Mar-16	1,503.2	97.2	1,600.4
Jun-16	1,952.8	165.2	2,118.0
Sep-16	1,597.0	104.1	1,701.1
Dec-16	1,788.6	112.7	1,901.3
Mar-17	1,747.3	192.8	1,940.1
Jun-17	2,000.4	456.2	2,456.6
Sep-17	1,881.8	896.1	2,777.9
Dec-17	2,168.6	1,120.5	3,289.2
Mar-18	1,830.1	1,397.3	3,227.4
Jun-18	2,169.7	1,505.1	3,674.8
Sep-18	2,010.7	1,158.5	3,169.2
Dec-18	2,214.5	1,741.1	3,955.6
Mar-19	1,938.9	1,180.6	3,119.5
Jun-19	2,248.7	1,332.0	3,580.7
Sep-19	1,906.9	1,344.4	3,251.3
Dec-19	1,868.5	1,491.6	3,360.1
Mar-20	1,812.7	1,083.9	2,896.7
Jun-20	1,974.2	1,422.8	3,397.0
Sep-20	1,872.2	1,058.9	2,931.1
Dec-20	2,037.3	775.2	2,812.5
Mar-21	1,725.4	774.6	2,500.1
Jun-21	2,022.4	1,190.5	3,212.9
Sep-21	2,020.5	1,497.4	3,517.8
Dec-21	2,301.7	1,296.1	3,597.7
Mar-22	2,111.1	1,146.7	3,257.9
Jun-22	2,740.1	1,565.4	4,305.5

Value of work done, quarterly ($m)

["Date","Other Electricity","Renewables","Total"]

[["Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22"],[[1503.2],[1952.8],[1597],[1788.5999999999999],[1747.3],[2000.4000000000001],[1881.8],[2168.5999999999999],[1830.0999999999999],[2169.6999999999998],[2010.7],[2214.5],[1938.9000000000001],[2248.6999999999998],[1906.9000000000001],[1868.5],[1812.7],[1974.2],[1872.2],[2037.3],[1725.4000000000001],[2022.4000000000001],[2020.5],[2301.6999999999998],[2111.0999999999999],[2740.0999999999999]],[[97.200000000000003],[165.19999999999999],[104.09999999999999],[112.7],[192.80000000000001],[456.19999999999999],[896.10000000000002],[1120.5],[1397.3],[1505.0999999999999],[1158.5],[1741.0999999999999],[1180.5999999999999],[1332],[1344.4000000000001],[1491.5999999999999],[1083.9000000000001],[1422.8],[1058.9000000000001],[775.20000000000005],[774.60000000000002],[1190.5],[1497.4000000000001],[1296.0999999999999],[1146.7],[1565.4000000000001]],[[1600.4000000000001],[2118],[1701.0999999999999],[1901.3],[1940.0999999999999],[2456.5999999999999],[2777.9000000000001],[3289.1999999999998],[3227.4000000000001],[3674.8000000000002],[3169.1999999999998],[3955.5999999999999],[3119.5],[3580.6999999999998],[3251.3000000000002],[3360.0999999999999],[2896.6999999999998],[3397],[2931.0999999999999],[2812.5],[2500.0999999999999],[3212.9000000000001],[3517.8000000000002],[3597.6999999999998],[3257.9000000000001],[4305.5]]]

[]

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Value of work done, quarterly ($m)
Date	Other Electricity	Renewables
Mar-16	1,503.2	97.2
Jun-16	1,952.8	165.2
Sep-16	1,597.0	104.1
Dec-16	1,788.6	112.7
Mar-17	1,747.3	192.8
Jun-17	2,000.4	456.2
Sep-17	1,881.8	896.1
Dec-17	2,168.6	1,120.5
Mar-18	1,830.1	1,397.3
Jun-18	2,169.7	1,505.1
Sep-18	2,010.7	1,158.5
Dec-18	2,214.5	1,741.1
Mar-19	1,938.9	1,180.6
Jun-19	2,248.7	1,332.0
Sep-19	1,906.9	1,344.4
Dec-19	1,868.5	1,491.6
Mar-20	1,812.7	1,083.9
Jun-20	1,974.2	1,422.8
Sep-20	1,872.2	1,058.9
Dec-20	2,037.3	775.2
Mar-21	1,725.4	774.6
Jun-21	2,022.4	1,190.5
Sep-21	2,020.5	1,497.4
Dec-21	2,301.7	1,296.1
Mar-22	2,111.1	1,146.7
Jun-22	2,740.1	1,565.4

Value of work done, quarterly ($m)

["Date","Other Electricity","Renewables"]

[["Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22"],[[1503.2],[1952.8],[1597],[1788.5999999999999],[1747.3],[2000.4000000000001],[1881.8],[2168.5999999999999],[1830.0999999999999],[2169.6999999999998],[2010.7],[2214.5],[1938.9000000000001],[2248.6999999999998],[1906.9000000000001],[1868.5],[1812.7],[1974.2],[1872.2],[2037.3],[1725.4000000000001],[2022.4000000000001],[2020.5],[2301.6999999999998],[2111.0999999999999],[2740.0999999999999]],[[97.200000000000003],[165.19999999999999],[104.09999999999999],[112.7],[192.80000000000001],[456.19999999999999],[896.10000000000002],[1120.5],[1397.3],[1505.0999999999999],[1158.5],[1741.0999999999999],[1180.5999999999999],[1332],[1344.4000000000001],[1491.5999999999999],[1083.9000000000001],[1422.8],[1058.9000000000001],[775.20000000000005],[774.60000000000002],[1190.5],[1497.4000000000001],[1296.0999999999999],[1146.7],[1565.4000000000001]]]

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The value of work done for renewables peaked at $1,741.1m in December 2018 whilst the value of work done for other electricity peaked at $2,740.1m in June 2022. The combined value of work done for renewable and other electricity peaked at a historical high of $4,305.5m in June 2022. The increase in other electricity investment in June 2022 highlights the increased investment in transmission and infrastructure following the sustained investment in renewable generation assets.

Value of work commenced, quarterly ($m)
Date	Other Electricity	Renewables
Mar-16	1,195.7	150.2
Jun-16	1,793.4	578.7
Sep-16	1,209.8	177.7
Dec-16	1,548.3	153.1
Mar-17	2,052.6	407.1
Jun-17	2,314.2	615.3
Sep-17	2,001.4	1,946.6
Dec-17	1,927.5	923.6
Mar-18	1,704.0	2,689.4
Jun-18	2,293.2	1,808.8
Sep-18	1,902.7	1,537.5
Dec-18	1,931.7	1,750.3
Mar-19	1,589.8	1,804.2
Jun-19	1,928.0	2,905.8
Sep-19	1,774.0	738.0
Dec-19	1,765.8	339.4
Mar-20	1,636.4	319.3
Jun-20	1,766.5	477.8
Sep-20	1,756.3	1,443.9
Dec-20	1,831.1	1,193.3
Mar-21	1,517.4	1,569.0
Jun-21	1,601.9	1,392.0
Sep-21	1,963.6	1,208.3
Dec-21	2,363.9	384.6
Mar-22	1,973.0	1,555.2
Jun-22	2,686.5	259.2

Value of work commenced, quarterly ($m)

["Date","Other Electricity","Renewables"]

[["Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22"],[[1195.7],[1793.4000000000001],[1209.8],[1548.3],[2052.5999999999999],[2314.1999999999998],[2001.4000000000001],[1927.5],[1704],[2293.1999999999998],[1902.7],[1931.7],[1589.8],[1928],[1774],[1765.8],[1636.4000000000001],[1766.5],[1756.3],[1831.0999999999999],[1517.4000000000001],[1601.9000000000001],[1963.5999999999999],[2363.9000000000001],[1973],[2686.5]],[[150.19999999999999],[578.70000000000005],[177.69999999999999],[153.09999999999999],[407.10000000000002],[615.29999999999995],[1946.5999999999999],[923.60000000000002],[2689.4000000000001],[1808.8],[1537.5],[1750.3],[1804.2],[2905.8000000000002],[738],[339.39999999999998],[319.30000000000001],[477.80000000000001],[1443.9000000000001],[1193.3],[1569],[1392],[1208.3],[384.60000000000002],[1555.2],[259.19999999999999]]]

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Renewable project investment, quarterly ($m)
Date	Renewable Work Done	Renewable Commencements
Mar-16	97.2	150.2
Jun-16	165.2	578.7
Sep-16	104.1	177.7
Dec-16	112.7	153.1
Mar-17	192.8	407.1
Jun-17	456.2	615.3
Sep-17	896.1	1,946.6
Dec-17	1,120.5	923.6
Mar-18	1,397.3	2,689.4
Jun-18	1,505.1	1,808.8
Sep-18	1,158.5	1,537.5
Dec-18	1,741.1	1,750.3
Mar-19	1,180.6	1,804.2
Jun-19	1,332.0	2,905.8
Sep-19	1,344.4	738.0
Dec-19	1,491.6	339.4
Mar-20	1,083.9	319.3
Jun-20	1,422.8	477.8
Sep-20	1,058.9	1,443.9
Dec-20	775.2	1,193.3
Mar-21	774.6	1,569.0
Jun-21	1,190.5	1,392.0
Sep-21	1,497.4	1,208.3
Dec-21	1,296.1	384.6
Mar-22	1,146.7	1,555.2
Jun-22	1,565.4	259.2

 Renewable project investment, quarterly ($m)

["Date","Renewable Work Done","Renewable Commencements"]

[["Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22"],[[97.212000000000003],[165.18950000000001],[104.1045],[112.74299999999999],[192.821],[456.23399999999998],[896.05420000000004],[1120.518],[1397.3113000000001],[1505.117],[1158.5317],[1741.1071999999999],[1180.5799],[1332.0311999999999],[1344.4025999999999],[1491.588],[1083.9473],[1422.8003000000001],[1058.8868],[775.22720000000004],[774.64350000000002],[1190.4531999999999],[1497.3604],[1296.0589],[1146.7176999999999],[1565.3816999999999]],[[150.167],[578.68100000000004],[177.71950000000001],[153.06899999999999],[407.07100000000003],[615.32500000000005],[1946.5712000000001],[923.62199999999996],[2689.4250000000002],[1808.8085000000001],[1537.5126],[1750.2899],[1804.1823999999999],[2905.7943],[737.99099999999999],[339.37099999999998],[319.2817],[477.82510000000002],[1443.8613],[1193.338],[1568.9915000000001],[1391.9837],[1208.319],[384.55399999999997],[1555.2197000000001],[259.15320000000003]]]

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Commencements of renewable energy projects peaked at $2,905.8m in June 2019 before dropping to $319.3m in March 2020.

The value of work done on renewable energy projects peaked at $1,741.1m in December 2018 before dropping to $774.6m in March 2021.

Electricity generation

Electricity generated, by source (GWh)
Financial Year	Renewable Generation	Non Renewable Generation	Total Generation	% Renewable Generation
2016-2017	35,443	185,737	221,180	16.0
2017-2018	39,414	183,207	222,621	17.7
2018-2019	47,250	176,446	223,696	21.1
2019-2020	55,218	168,465	223,683	24.7
2020-2021	64,033	158,516	222,549	28.8
2021-2022	75,618	151,096	226,714	33.4

Total electricity generation has not changed significantly over the time period analysed, increasing only 2.5% since the 2016-17 financial year, however the mix of generation source has changed significantly over this time.

In 2016-17 the amount of power generated from renewable sources was 16.0% and has almost doubled to 33.4% of all generation for the 2021-22 financial year. The actual amount of power generated from renewables has more than doubled, increasing from 35,443 to 75,618 GWh.

Contribution of roof top solar

Renewable generation data includes electricity generated by roof top solar arrays, despite not being captured in the investment data. While the contribution of roof top solar is not presented in these findings it is worth nothing that since March 2016 generation from roof top solar has increased at a greater rate than utility scale generation, more than tripling its contribution. Comparing March 2016 to March 2022 to negate seasonal impacts roof top generation has increased from 1805.8 GWh to 5938.2 GWh which is 30.3% of all renewable energy produced in March 2022.

Generation by type, quarterly (GWh)
Quarter	Total Generation	Other Electricity Generation	Renewable Generation
Mar-16	56,470	48,370	8,099
Jun-16	54,460	46,033	8,427
Sep-16	56,473	46,863	9,610
Dec-16	54,134	43,357	10,777
Mar-17	56,850	49,079	7,771
Jun-17	53,723	46,438	7,285
Sep-17	56,726	46,137	10,588
Dec-17	54,319	45,320	8,999
Mar-18	56,370	46,878	9,492
Jun-18	55,207	44,872	10,335
Sep-18	57,077	44,150	12,926
Dec-18	54,245	42,553	11,692
Mar-19	57,634	46,516	11,118
Jun-19	54,741	43,227	11,514
Sep-19	56,846	43,133	13,712
Dec-19	55,453	41,124	14,329
Mar-20	57,063	43,347	13,716
Jun-20	54,323	40,861	13,461
Sep-20	56,447	41,701	14,746
Dec-20	54,626	37,677	16,949
Mar-21	55,609	38,796	16,813
Jun-21	55,867	40,342	15,525
Sep-21	57,583	39,289	18,294
Dec-21	55,000	35,086	19,913
Mar-22	57,708	38,120	19,588
Jun-22	56,424	38,601	17,823

Generation by type, quarterly (GWh)

["Quarter","Total Generation","Other Electricity Generation","Renewable Generation"]

[["Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22"],[[56469.537129999997],[54460.213880000003],[56472.838109999997],[54133.921300000002],[56850.357960000001],[53723.357380000001],[56725.663959999998],[54319.135390000003],[56370.426700000004],[55207.164579999997],[57076.569730000003],[54244.600780000001],[57634.266860000003],[54740.804179999999],[56845.621330000002],[55452.975539999999],[57062.530879999998],[54322.659050000002],[56446.90754],[54626.108679999998],[55609.033380000001],[55866.82404],[57582.570970000001],[54999.738680000002],[57708.062980000002],[56424.208039999998]],[[48370.44066],[46032.805319999999],[46863.271999999997],[43356.91491],[49078.979950000001],[46438.128409999998],[46137.382429999998],[45320.361499999999],[46878.174189999998],[44872.004379999998],[44150.386299999998],[42552.757469999997],[46516.361559999998],[43226.844940000003],[43133.459690000003],[41124.313710000002],[43346.759050000001],[40861.492709999999],[41701.21499],[37676.845829999998],[38795.80399],[40341.564599999998],[39288.979769999998],[35086.401660000003],[38120.199359999999],[38601.486729999997]],[[8099.0964670000003],[8427.4085630000009],[9609.5661089999994],[10777.00639],[7771.378009],[7285.2289689999998],[10588.28153],[8998.7738910000007],[9492.2525060000007],[10335.1602],[12926.183429999999],[11691.84331],[11117.9053],[11513.95924],[13712.16164],[14328.661829999999],[13715.77183],[13461.16634],[14745.69255],[16949.262849999999],[16813.22939],[15525.25944],[18293.591209999999],[19913.337019999999],[19587.86362],[17822.721310000001]]]

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Renewable generation increased from 8,099 GWh in March 2016 to a peak of 19,913 GWh in December 2021. Total generation peaked at 57,708 GWh in March 2022.

% Generation by type, quarterly (GWh)
Quarter	Other Electricity Generation	Renewable Generation
Mar-16	48,370	8,099
Jun-16	46,033	8,427
Sep-16	46,863	9,610
Dec-16	43,357	10,777
Mar-17	49,079	7,771
Jun-17	46,438	7,285
Sep-17	46,137	10,588
Dec-17	45,320	8,999
Mar-18	46,878	9,492
Jun-18	44,872	10,335
Sep-18	44,150	12,926
Dec-18	42,553	11,692
Mar-19	46,516	11,118
Jun-19	43,227	11,514
Sep-19	43,133	13,712
Dec-19	41,124	14,329
Mar-20	43,347	13,716
Jun-20	40,861	13,461
Sep-20	41,701	14,746
Dec-20	37,677	16,949
Mar-21	38,796	16,813
Jun-21	40,342	15,525
Sep-21	39,289	18,294
Dec-21	35,086	19,913
Mar-22	38,120	19,588
Jun-22	38,601	17,823

% Generation by type, quarterly (GWh)

["Quarter","Other Electricity Generation","Renewable Generation"]

[["Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22"],[[48370.44066],[46032.805319999999],[46863.271999999997],[43356.91491],[49078.979950000001],[46438.128409999998],[46137.382429999998],[45320.361499999999],[46878.174189999998],[44872.004379999998],[44150.386299999998],[42552.757469999997],[46516.361559999998],[43226.844940000003],[43133.459690000003],[41124.313710000002],[43346.759050000001],[40861.492709999999],[41701.21499],[37676.845829999998],[38795.80399],[40341.564599999998],[39288.979769999998],[35086.401660000003],[38120.199359999999],[38601.486729999997]],[[8099.0964670000003],[8427.4085630000009],[9609.5661089999994],[10777.00639],[7771.378009],[7285.2289689999998],[10588.28153],[8998.7738910000007],[9492.2525060000007],[10335.1602],[12926.183429999999],[11691.84331],[11117.9053],[11513.95924],[13712.16164],[14328.661829999999],[13715.77183],[13461.16634],[14745.69255],[16949.262849999999],[16813.22939],[15525.25944],[18293.591209999999],[19913.337019999999],[19587.86362],[17822.721310000001]]]

[]

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The percentage of renewable energy generation has increased from 14.3% in March to a peak or 36.2% in December 2021. In June 22 renewable generation made up 31.6% of electricity generated.

Value of renewable investment ($m) vs renewable generation (GWh)
Quarter	Renewables Investment	Renewable Generation
Mar-16	97.2	8,099
Jun-16	165.2	8,427
Sep-16	104.1	9,610
Dec-16	112.7	10,777
Mar-17	192.8	7,771
Jun-17	456.2	7,285
Sep-17	896.1	10,588
Dec-17	1,120.5	8,999
Mar-18	1,397.3	9,492
Jun-18	1,505.1	10,335
Sep-18	1,158.5	12,926
Dec-18	1,741.1	11,692
Mar-19	1,180.6	11,118
Jun-19	1,332.0	11,514
Sep-19	1,344.4	13,712
Dec-19	1,491.6	14,329
Mar-20	1,083.9	13,716
Jun-20	1,422.8	13,461
Sep-20	1,058.9	14,746
Dec-20	775.2	16,949
Mar-21	774.6	16,813
Jun-21	1,190.5	15,525
Sep-21	1,497.4	18,294
Dec-21	1,296.1	19,913
Mar-22	1,146.7	19,588
Jun-22	1,565.4	17,823

Value of renewable investment ($m) vs renewable generation (GWh)

["Quarter","Renewables Investment","Renewable Generation"]

[["Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22"],[[97.200000000000003],[165.19999999999999],[104.09999999999999],[112.7],[192.80000000000001],[456.19999999999999],[896.10000000000002],[1120.5],[1397.3],[1505.0999999999999],[1158.5],[1741.0999999999999],[1180.5999999999999],[1332],[1344.4000000000001],[1491.5999999999999],[1083.9000000000001],[1422.8],[1058.9000000000001],[775.20000000000005],[774.60000000000002],[1190.5],[1497.4000000000001],[1296.0999999999999],[1146.7],[1565.4000000000001]],[[8099],[8427],[9610],[10777],[7771],[7285],[10588],[8999],[9492],[10335],[12926],[11692],[11118],[11514],[13712],[14329],[13716],[13461],[14746],[16949],[16813],[15525],[18294],[19913],[19588],[17823]]]

[]

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Renewable energy investment has increased from $97.2m in March 2016 to $1,565.4m in June 2022 with a peak of $1,741.1m in December 2018. Meanwhile, renewable energy generation has increased from 8,099 GWh in March 2016 to 17,822 GWh in June 2022 with a peak of 19,913 GWh in December 2021.

States

Renewable investment by state
State		2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
NSW(a)	Work Done ($m)	401.3	1,301.4	1,094.0	1,294.9	1,392.2	2,266.4
	% Renewable generation	10.5	11.3	13.7	17.4	22.1	27.3
Vic.	Work Done ($m)	63.2	527.5	1,937.2	2,011.1	750.7	861.9
	% Renewable generation	15.1	17.2	20.3	23.5	28.5	33.3
Qld.	Work Done ($m)	222.4	2,204.6	1,330.5	495.1	562.3	1,602.5
	% Renewable generation	5.0	5.8	10.2	14.2	17.1	19.8
SA	Work Done ($m)	74.6	526.3	420.0	115.2	443.4	348.7
	% Renewable generation	48.5	47.8	51.9	56.1	61.9	69.2
WA	Work Done ($m)	33.6	284.5	235.6	1,113.5	488.8	331.9
	% Renewable generation	13.7	15.0	18.4	20.9	29.5	33.6
Tas.	Work Done ($m)	61.6	65.1	381.9	244.5	86.3	51.9
	% Renewable generation	92.3	92.5	95.8	99.1	99.2	99.6
NT	Work Done ($m)	9.2	9.7	13.1	68.5	75.6	42.3
	% Renewable generation	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

(a) includes ACT

New South Wales

Value of renewable investment, quarterly ($m)
Quarter	Commencements	Work Done
Mar-16	77.6	28.3
Jun-16	346.5	45.6
Sep-16	40.7	29.0
Dec-16	3.6	66.3
Mar-17	315.0	128.8
Jun-17	123.5	177.2
Sep-17	352.4	243.9
Dec-17	337.7	437.1
Mar-18	10.2	338.2
Jun-18	196.4	282.2
Sep-18	319.6	140.7
Dec-18	644.1	237.9
Mar-19	21.4	282.1
Jun-19	2,781.1	433.2
Sep-19	36.7	301.7
Dec-19	215.8	400.5
Mar-20	144.6	209.1
Jun-20	28.3	383.6
Sep-20	438.4	365.3
Dec-20	210.4	388.6
Mar-21	7.0	272.7
Jun-21	599.5	365.7
Sep-21	443.5	381.1
Dec-21	284.8	490.4
Mar-22	331.9	550.2
Jun-22	42.5	844.7

Generation, quarterly (GWh)
Quarter	Renewable Generation	Other Electricity Generation
Mar-16	1,771	15,082
Jun-16	1,723	14,039
Sep-16	1,400	15,227
Dec-16	2,630	12,388
Mar-17	1,518	15,584
Jun-17	1,301	15,336
Sep-17	1,841	14,883
Dec-17	1,507	14,809
Mar-18	2,056	15,561
Jun-18	2,164	14,192
Sep-18	2,476	14,414
Dec-18	2,364	14,569
Mar-19	2,288	15,709
Jun-19	2,332	14,668
Sep-19	2,859	14,937
Dec-19	3,240	13,396
Mar-20	3,193	13,872
Jun-20	2,488	13,576
Sep-20	3,221	14,423
Dec-20	3,957	11,848
Mar-21	4,038	12,017
Jun-21	3,555	13,640
Sep-21	3,979	13,478
Dec-21	4,884	11,162
Mar-22	5,118	12,258
Jun-22	4,497	12,401

Victoria

Value of renewable investment, quarterly ($m)
Quarter	Commencements	Work Done
Mar-16	4.1	1.9
Jun-16	88.4	15.4
Sep-16	2.7	16.6
Dec-16	72.2	8.3
Mar-17	9.3	8.7
Jun-17	19.8	29.6
Sep-17	258.5	65.8
Dec-17	66.0	24.0
Mar-18	1,552.0	229.1
Jun-18	1,030.5	208.6
Sep-18	426.9	308.3
Dec-18	993.5	595.2
Mar-19	953.3	527.7
Jun-19	21.6	506.1
Sep-19	28.6	447.7
Dec-19	50.6	580.2
Mar-20	113.3	480.9
Jun-20	6.0	502.3
Sep-20	417.6	239.4
Dec-20	621.9	154.2
Mar-21	4.7	163.0
Jun-21	216.3	194.1
Sep-21	12.6	508.3
Dec-21	7.1	205.9
Mar-22	108.4	100.3
Jun-22	1.7	47.4

Generation, quarterly (GWh)
Quarter	Renewable Generation	Other Electricity Generation
Mar-16	1,832	11,912
Jun-16	1,913	11,644
Sep-16	2,469	11,577
Dec-16	2,351	11,509
Mar-17	1,682	11,837
Jun-17	1,606	10,503
Sep-17	2,211	9,992
Dec-17	1,789	9,290
Mar-18	1,972	9,674
Jun-18	2,148	10,125
Sep-18	2,606	9,623
Dec-18	2,210	8,683
Mar-19	2,350	9,784
Jun-19	2,276	9,011
Sep-19	2,759	8,766
Dec-19	2,705	8,779
Mar-20	2,733	9,392
Jun-20	2,854	9,095
Sep-20	3,132	8,962
Dec-20	3,638	8,248
Mar-21	3,777	9,234
Jun-21	3,507	8,839
Sep-21	4,178	8,547
Dec-21	4,500	7,780
Mar-22	4,270	8,784
Jun-22	4,092	8,964

Queensland

Value of renewable investment, quarterly ($m)
Quarter	Commencements	Work Done
Mar-16	3.4	5.2
Jun-16	30.9	12.4
Sep-16	42.0	13.4
Dec-16	35.5	19.4
Mar-17	21.6	11.1
Jun-17	444.4	178.5
Sep-17	927.3	500.8
Dec-17	278.8	447.5
Mar-18	973.2	521.5
Jun-18	270.1	734.8
Sep-18	171.3	448.7
Dec-18	24.7	590.1
Mar-19	71.4	136.6
Jun-19	13.5	155.1
Sep-19	23.9	227.9
Dec-19	30.3	125.5
Mar-20	12.4	59.0
Jun-20	186.8	82.7
Sep-20	15.9	125.6
Dec-20	26.0	92.5
Mar-21	838.4	130.1
Jun-21	513.6	214.1
Sep-21	676.4	407.9
Dec-21	29.5	453.4
Mar-22	542.9	289.8
Jun-22	56.5	451.4

Generation, quarterly (GWh)
Quarter	Renewable Generation	Other Electricity Generation
Mar-16	717	14,673
Jun-16	642	14,309
Sep-16	629	14,208
Dec-16	795	14,644
Mar-17	984	15,650
Jun-17	714	14,371
Sep-17	878	14,813
Dec-17	917	15,028
Mar-18	991	15,484
Jun-18	932	14,890
Sep-18	1,290	14,265
Dec-18	1,645	14,230
Mar-19	1,834	15,071
Jun-19	1,709	13,678
Sep-19	2,089	13,548
Dec-19	2,560	13,714
Mar-20	2,292	14,705
Jun-20	2,150	12,939
Sep-20	2,446	12,773
Dec-20	3,011	13,385
Mar-21	2,785	13,256
Jun-21	2,458	12,630
Sep-21	2,904	12,366
Dec-21	3,370	12,380
Mar-22	3,375	12,655
Jun-22	2,664	12,499

South Australia

Value of renewable investment, quarterly ($m)
Quarter	Commencements	Work Done
Mar-16	21.5	33.8
Jun-16	83.9	58.5
Sep-16	55.3	30.3
Dec-16	37.3	1.3
Mar-17	18.8	22.8
Jun-17	1.9	20.3
Sep-17	306.4	11.5
Dec-17	178.5	150.2
Mar-18	2.0	165.2
Jun-18	220.9	199.4
Sep-18	0.9	116.6
Dec-18	33.6	159.6
Mar-19	0.5	74.8
Jun-19	0.3	69.0
Sep-19	15.4	28.2
Dec-19	38.8	31.1
Mar-20	12.9	23.0
Jun-20	10.4	32.8
Sep-20	6.2	26.7
Dec-20	316.3	22.8
Mar-21	456.5	139.6
Jun-21	1.3	254.4
Sep-21	10.2	114.8
Dec-21	7.4	54.7
Mar-22	450.7	90.4
Jun-22	32.7	88.8

Generation, quarterly (GWh)
Quarter	Renewable Generation	Other Electricity Generation
Mar-16	1,221	1,922
Jun-16	1,341	1,545
Sep-16	1,399	1,403
Dec-16	1,468	963
Mar-17	1,389	1,414
Jun-17	1,015	1,815
Sep-17	1,881	2,024
Dec-17	1,621	2,001
Mar-18	1,679	1,708
Jun-18	1,482	1,549
Sep-18	2,025	1,656
Dec-18	1,877	1,445
Mar-19	1,782	1,916
Jun-19	1,738	1,869
Sep-19	1,991	1,942
Dec-19	2,178	1,486
Mar-20	2,019	1,354
Jun-20	1,830	1,493
Sep-20	2,066	1,814
Dec-20	2,414	1,103
Mar-21	2,215	872
Jun-21	1,803	1,444
Sep-21	2,231	1,361
Dec-21	2,468	737
Mar-22	2,494	794
Jun-22	2,056	1,226

Western Australia

Value of renewable investment, quarterly ($m)
Quarter	Commencements	Work Done
Mar-16	12.2	18.5
Jun-16	0.0	2.7
Sep-16	7.2	5.0
Dec-16	2.5	4.0
Mar-17	37.0	3.8
Jun-17	19.7	20.8
Sep-17	60.3	61.6
Dec-17	49.1	49.1
Mar-18	124.4	124.4
Jun-18	69.0	49.4
Sep-18	51.1	79.8
Dec-18	51.6	55.4
Mar-19	746.5	45.1
Jun-19	84.6	55.4
Sep-19	562.4	184.2
Dec-19	2.1	302.0
Mar-20	2.3	268.5
Jun-20	189.3	358.7
Sep-20	505.0	259.6
Dec-20	8.9	66.1
Mar-21	56.5	34.9
Jun-21	36.4	128.2
Sep-21	25.5	66.9
Dec-21	48.2	71.5
Mar-22	110.7	94.9
Jun-22	73.3	98.6

Generation, quarterly (GWh)
Quarter	Renewable Generation	Other Electricity Generation
Mar-16	680	4,300
Jun-16	468	4,220
Sep-16	565	4,443
Dec-16	770	3,850
Mar-17	740	4,179
Jun-17	548	4,046
Sep-17	570	4,315
Dec-17	829	3,878
Mar-18	880	4,043
Jun-18	611	4,106
Sep-18	662	4,152
Dec-18	906	3,586
Mar-19	1,035	3,827
Jun-19	856	3,810
Sep-19	820	3,904
Dec-19	1,206	3,713
Mar-20	1,181	4,015
Jun-20	850	3,742
Sep-20	1,063	3,676
Dec-20	1,668	3,080
Mar-21	1,928	3,415
Jun-21	1,166	3,771
Sep-21	1,464	3,539
Dec-21	1,926	3,032
Mar-22	2,103	3,617
Jun-22	1,433	3,473

Tasmania

Value of renewable investment, quarterly ($m)
Quarter	Commencements	Work Done
Mar-16	31.4	9.6
Jun-16	19.2	29.9
Sep-16	29.8	5.9
Dec-16	1.9	10.6
Mar-17	5.5	16.4
Jun-17	6.1	28.8
Sep-17	41.7	12.3
Dec-17	13.1	12.3
Mar-18	5.8	17.3
Jun-18	21.8	23.3
Sep-18	567.8	57.9
Dec-18	2.8	98.6
Mar-19	11.1	112.5
Jun-19	4.7	113.0
Sep-19	38.6	137.5
Dec-19	1.6	42.6
Mar-20	17.0	29.7
Jun-20	19.0	34.7
Sep-20	60.8	18.6
Dec-20	9.5	29.4
Mar-21	35.2	13.8
Jun-21	3.9	24.6
Sep-21	40.1	13.0
Dec-21	7.4	11.6
Mar-22	9.9	12.1
Jun-22	38.1	15.2

Generation, quarterly (GWh)
Quarter	Renewable Generation	Other Electricity Generation
Mar-16	1,880	481
Jun-16	2,341	276
Sep-16	3,152	5
Dec-16	2,763	4
Mar-17	1,465	416
Jun-17	2,107	367
Sep-17	3,210	111
Dec-17	2,337	314
Mar-18	1,915	408
Jun-18	2,998	10
Sep-18	3,868	41
Dec-18	2,692	40
Mar-19	1,828	210
Jun-19	2,602	190
Sep-19	3,198	36
Dec-19	2,440	37
Mar-20	2,297	8
Jun-20	3,290	16
Sep-20	2,818	52
Dec-20	2,261	13
Mar-21	2,070	2
Jun-21	3,036	18
Sep-21	3,538	1
Dec-21	2,765	0
Mar-22	2,230	12
Jun-22	3,082	38

Method

The primary source of the renewable investment data is the Engineering Construction survey. The survey collects the value of commencements and work done on a range of work types including ‘Electricity generation, transmission and distribution’. This data item includes:

New power stations, hydro-electric generating plants, wind farms, utility scale solar farms and pumped hydro generation
Associated work to support generation assets including substations, battery storage and transmission and distribution line construction and upgrades
Major repair and replacement of existing electricity assets
Excludes roof top photovoltaic solar systems which make up a notable portion of renewable energy generation

The engineering construction survey does not ask for data at a project level, as such the identification of renewable projects is reliant on businesses providing additional information. Where this information is not readily available, project identification has been carried out using multiple external sources to identify projects and the businesses involved in their construction. This has allowed the projects to be tracked through the life of construction.

While every effort has been made to identify projects and split renewable/other electricity asset investment there are cases that this is not possible. This has likely resulted in a level of under coverage of renewable investment.

Other limitations to the data include:

units undertaking renewable construction and not selected in the survey, selected but not responding or reporting incorrectly
data being reported in commodities other than electricity ie combined in a mining commodity; reported under site preparation for turbine foundations
renewable and other electricity investment combined in reported data where a business is undertaking work in both spaces
small scale utility renewable projects not identified for tracking

As a result the data presented should not be taken as a comprehensive account of all renewable investment.

The value of electricity commencements and work done includes generation, transmission and distribution data so the information presented should not be read as an analysis of new generation projects only. While the renewable data is primarily generation and storage investment, data pertaining to other electricity assets includes non-generation investment such as maintaining and expanding existing transmission networks, connecting new renewable projects to existing networks and non-renewable generation assets ie coal and gas power plants.

Generation data has been split into renewable generation and non-renewable generation based on the energy source.

Energy Source	Investment	Generation
Utility Solar	Renewable	Renewable
Wind	Renewable	Renewable
Hydro Electric	Renewable	Renewable
Pumped Hydro	Renewable	Renewable
Dispatchable Battery Storage	Renewable	Renewable
Rooftop Solar	Out of Scope	Renewable
Biomass	Renewable	Renewable
Coal (Brown and Black)	Other Electricity	Non-Renewable
Gas	Other Electricity	Non-Renewable
Diesel	Other Electricity	Non-Renewable
Unknown	Other Electricity	Non-Renewable

Glossary

AEMO

The Australian Electricity Market Operator is responsible for the management of the electricity and gas systems and markets across Australia.

Commencements (value of work commenced)

A project is regarded as having commenced when the site works begin. The commencement value reported is based on the expected project cost upon commencement and is not revised to reflect changes in the project value as the project progresses.

Gigawatt Hour (GWh)

A Gigawatt hour of electricity generated is the equivalent of 1000 Megawatt hours (MWh) or 1 million Kilowatt hours (KWh).

NEM

Operating in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, the NEM is both a wholesale electricity market and the physical power system. AEMO also operates the retail electricity markets that underpin the wholesale market.

Roof top solar

Roof top solar includes residential and commercial rooftop arrays that generate power for users connected to either the NEM or WEM. Arrays not connected to a commercial grid are not captured under generation data.

WEM

The Wholesale Energy Market supplies electricity to the south-west of Western Australia via the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).

Work done (value of work done)

The value of work done is based on the actual value of work carried out in the quarter and includes Wages, salaries and supplements to on and off-site employees; Plant hire (internal and external); Materials and all other expenses; Head office overheads with the relevant project. Values are reported exclusive of GST.

APA

Citation

Value of renewable energy construction

APA

Citation

Introduction

Purpose

Source

Summary

Electricity generation, transmission and distribution investment

Electricity generation

Contribution of roof top solar

States

New South Wales

Victoria

Queensland

South Australia

Western Australia

Tasmania

Method

Glossary

Downloads

Datacubes

1. Value of electricity investment, by state

2. Power generation, by state

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