The City of Sydney has made headlines by announcing that “it now runs on 100% renewable energy”. It has achieved this through a $60 million purchase of the electricity generated by two solar farms and a wind farm located hundreds of kilometers away. Physically, Sydney is still plugged into the New South Wales electricity grid that is over 80% generated by coal, gas and oil. Adelaide and Canberra have entered into similar deals with electricity retailers to achieve their “100% renewables” claim. South Australia’s grid is around 50% non-renewables, mostly generated by gas. The ACT only generates around 2% of its own electricity.
In contrast, the electricity that is supplied throughout the Tasmanian grid is almost 100% renewable, and with new wind generation being added, the state is on track to being 100 per cent renewable electricity self-sufficient by 2022.
This means every household, business and community in Tasmania connected to the grid will soon be able to announce that they are powered by “100% renewables”.
You can find out more about Sydney’s renewable energy deal here
Image: The City of Sydney
