On Tuesday, consultancy EY’s bi-annual index of the top 40 renewable energy markets worldwide showed that Australia jumped into the top three of the most attractive countries for renewables investment, highly due to the rapid deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV).
Australia jumped to the third position from the fourth in May.
Australia has deployed the biggest per capita rooftop-PV deployment in the world at more than 10 GW of roof-mounted solar PV. Other than that, the jump was also driven by its plans for renewable energy export links to Asia.
However, the country’s second-quarter renewables investment dropped due to the coronavirus pandemic, policy uncertainty, and problems with grid stability and price volatility. Nonetheless, the index indicates that Australia could be set to become a green energy-exporting leader.
The first place in the rank was kept by the US, with China in the second position. India rose to fourth from seventh on the back of record-low solar tariff bids and a new target for renewables generation. On the other hand, France dropped to seventh from third due to the postponed renewable energy auctions indefinitely, along with the planned retroactive cuts to solar subsidies.
Other countries rising up the rankings were Britain, Portugal, Morocco, Taiwan, Poland, and South Korea. Germany, Denmark, and Mexico were among those which fell.
