Combined investment by private energy companies in wind farms across South Australia since the Rann government was elected in 2002 is now nearly $2 billion according to the Premier.

Mr. Rann expects South Australia to meet its first renewable energy target of 20 per cent of electricity generated from renewable energy ahead of the 2014 schedule and says South Australia is well on the way to achieving the next target of 33% of renewable power in the state's energy mix by 2020.

"If South Australia were a nation state - it would rank second in the world behind only Denmark in the amount of wind energy it hosts as a proportion of its total electricity generation." said Mr Rann.

"We have set ourselves up to become the engine room of Australia’s wind energy industry...The State Government is investing in a Sustainable Technologies Precinct at the former Mitsubishi site at Tonsley Park that will help to further maximise job opportunities and economic benefits from renewable energy and clean technology industries, including advanced manufacturing."

Mr. Rann says the Government's Macquarie Green Grid study indicates that South Australia's Eyre Peninsula region has the space and wind resources to host a further 2,000 MW of conventional wind generation turbines operating above 35 per cent capacity. The efficiency could potentially be much higher using new, high-yield wind turbines; but a means to deliver green power to eastern seaboard markets is needed. The Green Grid study is intended to help attract the transmission investment required.