Australia

Australia has some of the world's best onshore and offshore wind resources, and the sector is set to play a large role in the country's energy transition away from ageing coal-fired generation. Wind power, all of it onshore, accounted for 33.5% of Australia's renewable power generation in 2024, providing 32,519 GWh of energy, making it the largest category of clean power supply in the Australian renewable energy sector. Overall, it supplied 13.4% of Australia's total power generation in 2024, while renewable energy represented 40% of Australia's total electricity generation mix, up slightly from the previous year.

Seven onshore wind farms were connected to the grid in 2024, with the largest, Tilt Renewables' Rye Park, coming in at just a whisker below 400 MW. Meanwhile several even larger onshore wind farms are currently under construction: the 414 MW Uungula in New South Wales, the 450 MW Clarke Creek and the 923 MW Macintyre in Queensland, and the two stages of the 1.33 GW Golden Plains in Victoria.

A resurgence in wind energy investment

Eight new onshore wind projects saw financial commitments in 2024, for a total 2.2 GW of new generation capacity, at an estimated value of AUD 5.9 billion (USD 3.71 billion). This marks a resurgence in wind energy project investment, following a slump in 2023 which was driven by higher equipment, construction and financing costs, planning and environmental assessment bottlenecks, and policy uncertainty.

The federal and state governments have made focused efforts to streamline assessment processes and reduce commercial risks for new clean energy investments through the expanded Capacity Investment Scheme. This competitive tendering process will provide revenue underwriting for 23 GW of new large-scale generation and 9 GW of dispatchable capacity by 2027. Such efforts appear to be boosting renewed investor confidence.