It costs about the same to build the same sized wind farm or solar farm anywhere in the world. But how much electricity it will generate depends on the quality and reliability of the wind or solar resource at that location.
While Australia has enjoyed a relatively uneventful summer climatically, it has been a very different story in the northern hemisphere. Parts of Europe and Asia have suffered massive winter storms, covering solar panels in snow. Ice and windstorms froze pipelines, instruments and lubricants, damaging transmission infrastructure and every other type of generation, throwing electricity markets and supply into chaos.
A report in 2015 by Beyond Zero Emissions found that Australia’s relatively mild climate and large proportion of rural land means we have the potential to become a renewable energy export superpower.
An analysis of Australia’s hydrogen production potential by Geoscience Australia in 2019 showed Tasmania’s high potential for green hydrogen production owing to our wind, hydro and solar resource potential, land use, water availability and existing infrastructure.
Tasmania’s consistent wind resource firmed by hydro and pumped hydro is a globally rare combination. Not only is it drawing attention from the emerging green hydrogen industry, but also the growing range of modern industries seeking secure and reliable renewable energy.
You can learn more about Geoscience Australia’s research here
You can find Beyond Zero Emissions’ report “Renewable Energy Superpower” here
Image: Renewable hydrogen potential constrained by existing pipeline infrastructure, Geoscience Australia
