Wind Power Progress in Australia – CleanTechnica

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Last Updated on: 16th August 2025, 02:48 am

The Clean Energy Report 2025 paints a picture of investment progress in onshore wind in 2024. Sadly, this has not been carried forward into 2025, but we must celebrate the wins when we can. It also illuminates the reasons for the lack of progress in Australia’s offshore wind development.

Australia is a leader in rooftop solar. Over 4 million solar roofs have been installed to date — 3.2 GW in 2024 alone. My home is a microcosm of this. The sun is shining, creating electricity which is fed to my home battery for storage and will later be used to power my electric car. We are an energy-independent household, even though we are still connected to the grid. I would love to add a mini wind turbine, but at the moment, these are still too expensive. Although, this one looks promising.

I was pleasantly surprised to read the stats contained in the Clean Energy Council report about onshore wind. Although rooftop solar is the one in the limelight, onshore wind is actually producing more power for the Aussie grid, contributing 13.4% of electricity compared with rooftop solar at 11.2%. Perhaps if we get rooftop wind, the lead will extend further! For those curious, here is an interactive map of Australian wind farms. There is obviously a lot going on. Wind generated 32.5 GWh in 2024, equivalent to powering 7 million homes, or about one third of Australia’s renewable energy.

Onshore wind installations have faced challenges in 2024, including “uncertainties and inconsistencies in environmental assessments, supply chain issues, uncertainty in revenue and power-purchase agreements, complexities regarding grid access and many more. These challenges mean the assessment and determination process for onshore wind projects tends to be lengthier and more complex than other technologies.” Particularly solar. “On average across Australia, it takes solar projects six fewer months than wind projects to progress from financial commitment through to the final commissioned stage.”

But, why is there progress in onshore wind and so little in offshore wind? The main reason (as always) is political. Ocean sites for wind power are controlled by the federal government, which for ten years under a conservative party blocked development and obfuscated the electorate with misinformation. CleanTechnica published about this here. Under a new Labour federal government, progress is being made, albeit slowly. There is a lengthy process to assess environmental and engineering concerns. This is ably chronicled in the “Star of the South” newsletters I get each month, reporting on seabed studies of wildlife, community consultations, and preliminary engineering works.

CEC reports that 2024 saw significant developments in offshore wind, with areas declared off the New South Wales and Victorian coastlines. 12 GW of feasibility licences have been awarded across six declared areas, and regulations clarified and streamlined. Geophysical works and bird surveys have commenced in some projects. Then there will be “environmental impact assessments and, ultimately, applications for commercial licences to construct and operate offshore wind farms.” It’s a long, convoluted process.

Let’s go back to onshore wind — the progress here is much more encouraging. Six new wind farms were connected to Australia’s grid in 2024, providing 836 MW of new capacity. Victoria continues to be the leading state for wind generation.

As of December 2024, there are 18 wind farms under construction across Australia. Investment commitments of AU$5.9 billion have been made across eight projects. When completed, they are expected to add 2.2 GW of new capacity. Four of these are in Queensland, two in Western Australia, and one each in New South Wales and Victoria. With the Queensland government going conservative, the first four may be under threat. MacIntyre Wind Farm in Queensland is continuing its buildout. When fully operational, it will be the largest wind farm by capacity (923 MW) in the country. CleanTechnica has reported on it here.

The largest project in NSW, Uungula Wind Farm, is owned by Twiggy Forrest’s Squadron Energy. It will host 69 turbines producing 414 MW at peak output. In Victoria, the Golden Plains Wind Farm is expected to finish construction by 2028, adding over 1300 MW of capacity. Meanwhile, in the west of the country, Acciona (owner of the Macintyre Wind Farm) is proposing to build a 3 GW wind farm in West Australia’s wheat belt. It is described as the largest wind farm outside of China. That’s an interesting metric — measuring energy projects by China — and shows a shift in power production. Acciona’s wind farm is expected to create 100 permanent jobs, create 400 jobs in construction, and add AU$1 billion to the local economy.

South Australia has long been a leader in renewables, and it is still setting an example. With two new wind farms receiving backing, this state is “set to become the first gigawatt-scale grid in the world to reach 100 per cent ‘net’ renewables, all through wind and solar.” The two wind farms are Neoen’s 300 MW Goyder North and Tilt Renewables’ 274 MW Palmer. Tilt is already supplying power to BHP.

Neoen already owns the Hornsdale Power reserve — the big battery Tesla built. Goyder is situated about a 2 hours drive north of Adelaide. See their brochure for an excellent map on page 8 of the project lifecycle from development to operation.

With the NEM reporting record demand levels in 2024, Australia will need all the electricity generation it can get. “To keep costs low, that means an increasing need for more renewables and better transmission. As the CEC puts it: As the cost of renewable technologies, particularly solar and wind, continues to decline, they have become more competitively priced than traditional fossil fuels like coal and gas. These energy sources are not only cheaper to deploy and operate but also provide long-term price stability, as their fuel (sunlight and wind) is free…. Renewable energy is seen as the least cost pathway to meeting growing demand.”

Not only that, but Australia’s energy independence and climate change commitments depend on electrification and the reduction of imports of oil-based products. You never know, we might even achieve the elusive lower power bill all households crave.

Stop the press: It appears that new data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance is showing an “investment strike” on wind energy. It is reported that financial commitments have fallen from AU$7.2 billion in 2024 to a paltry $700 million in the first half of 2025. Only just over 1.1 GW of new capacity has been committed. What is going on? It appears that investment (especially by Australia’s largest utilities — AGL, Origin, and Energy Australia) is being directed to battery storage instead. These utilities own most of the remaining coal generators and account for 80 percent of consumer demand. It could be a power play to retain market share. Hopefully Mike Cannon-Brookes of Atlassian will help sway the conversations. He is the largest shareholder in AGL.

In response, Australia’s federal and state energy ministers are meeting. Where, you ask? In Taronga Park Zoo. Hopefully that does not portend an inauspicious outcome! Stay tuned.