Australia’s renewable energy industry needs to double its deployment of large-scale projects to reach the Federal Government’s renewable energy generation target, Clean Energy Council has said.

The Albanese Government committed to renewable energy making up 82 percent of Australia’s electricity market by 2030, as a part of Labor’s Powering Australia plan.

“Powering Australia will create jobs, cut power bills and reduce emissions by boosting renewable energy,” according to the government plan’s report.

Australia has more than doubled the amount renewable energy made up of total electricity generation from 16.9 percent since 2017. Renewable energy made up 35.9 percent of Australia’s total electricity generation last year.

Large-scale clean energy investment reached $6.2 billion in 2022, a 17 percent increase from the year before.

Considering Australia’s continuing growth, Kane Thornton, Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, is optimistic.

“There’s significant cause for optimism at a time when ageing fossil fuel-based generators are retiring,” he said.

However, according to the Australia Institute last financial year, the Australian Federal and state governments provided $11.6 billion in spending and tax breaks to assist fossil fuel industries. This is an increase of 12 percent from the year before.

Thornton said Australia’s energy mix will benefit from the greater policy clarity due to the “genuine focus federally” on climate change and the clean energy transition.

“However, we cannot take the sustained growth of renewable energy for granted,” Thornton said.