South Australia’s wind farms produced enough electricity to meet a record 43 per cent of the state’s power needs during July, according to new figures released by the Clean Energy Council today.
The mark beats the state’s 38 per cent recorded across August last year.
Clean Energy Council acting chief executive Kane Thornton said South Australia had easily passed its previous best performance, while the entire National Electricity Market had also set a new benchmark.
“Australia’s wind farms were working overtime in the cold conditions during July. South Australia comfortably powered ahead to set a new wind power record, helped by a bit of extra renewable grunt from the new Snowtown II wind farm.
“The South Australian example shows that wind power can generate jobs and investment, as well as large amounts of renewable electricity. During a short period early in the morning of July 31, wind power met all of the state’s power needs, as well as providing more than 90 per cent for large parts of July 8,” he said.
As well as the new record set in South Australia, wind power provided an average of about 7 per cent of Victoria’s electricity demand, and around 6 per cent across the National Electricity Market.
Mr Thornton said that while wind was variable, it was also predictable, allowing the grid operator to source the mix of power generation that would deliver the lowest possible prices for consumers.
“This technology has been a clear wind-win for South Australia, generating more than $5 billion of investment over the last decade, creating hundreds of jobs and providing the state with a cleaner power supply – at a low cost to consumers.
“None of this would be possible without the national Renewable Energy Target, which is currently under review. Approximately $15 billion of additional investment will be generated by the policy if the scheme is left as it is currently legislated.”