For years, Australia has been heavily reliant on plentiful domestic coal resources for electricity generation, but recent federal legislations are explicitly designed to restructure the country’s power supply. The July 1, 2012 introduction of the Labour government’s much-debated carbon tax has signaled a new wave of enthusiasm for renewable energy projects that have previously been considered a complement to Australia’s coal-fired generation matrix. In another move to promote renewables, the federal government has instituted a Renewable Energy Target of 20% renewable power generation by 2020, representing a 10% increase from current levels.

These developments have taken place at a time when Australia has successfully navigated the harsh waters of the global financial crisis, thanks in large part to its energy-intensive resource industries. Australia’s GDP growth during the first half of 2012 ranked amongst the developed world’s highest rates at 3.7%. In another stamp of approval for Australia’s economic success, the International Monetary Fund predicted that Australia would outperform all advanced economies for at least the next two years.