Australia set to reach carbon net-zero target a decade sooner than others
https://www.energymatters.com.au/...set-to-reach-carbon-net-zero-target-a-decade-sooner-than-others/
This was ratified in the 2015 United Nations Paris Agreement, which saw 195 countries sign up and pledge their commitment towards reaching that target by 2050. This includes Australia; although the way things are tracking, we could achieve carbon net-zero emissions in 2040 – a decade ahead of the global target.
Australia added about seven gigawatts of renewable energy in 2020 – a record volume – and would need to double that to 14GW to reach the target. Meeting this target would wipe out 80 per cent of our emissions, all coming from fossil fuels and allow us to be carbon neutral.
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One single project is already set to smash our annual record with sprawling Australia–ASEAN Power Link project in the Northern Territory set to deliver a 10GW solar farm.
There are also 95 projects set to commence construction or completion in the near future that will deliver another 11.209GW of renewable power. Add to that the 10.531GW of projects that have not yet reached financial close or be commissioned, and we are looking at an enormous spike in the volume of solar power being installed across Australia.
Wind power is also set to boom, with 2021 predicted to be the biggest on record. It is one of the fastest-growing sources of energy globally, and five major projects are going ahead in Australia that will deliver 6.93GW of power in 2021 and 2022.
Australia already has 20.21GW of solar PV systems installed across 2.66 million homes and business, and this number is set to spike as well. There were 333,978 installations in 2020 – despite the global COVID-19 pandemic – which added 2.6 GW of capacity to the network. That number is set to rise year on year as well.