Big names target Australian renewables

Falling solar and battery storage costs, combined with a desire to save on infill gas use, are luring majors into Australia’s renewables generation sector

Upstream operators BP, Shell, Eni and Total have upped their renewables investment markedly the past 18 months, while local independent producers Santos and Woodside are also starting to invest in green technologies. Only 1GW of Australia's installed renewable energy capacity is currently owned by the upstream majors, but significant forecast investment means they will be the dominant renewable developers in Australia by end-2020, says consultancy Rystad Energy. "The Australian renewable energy pipeline is surging above 100GW of solar, wind and utility storage projects with investment matching upstream capex at $10bn per annum," says Gero Farruggio, Rystad's head of Australia and global head