Grass fire forces one of Australia’s biggest solar farms to shut down for a day, no word yet on cause

A large grass fire has forced one of Australia’s biggest solar farms – the 330 megawatt (MW-ac) Wellington North facility in the central west of NSW – offline for a day, but it is now back up and running at near full capacity.

The fire erupted in the early afternoon on Saturday, amid heatwave conditions that created several dozen fires across the state and caused the loss of dozens of homes and other buildings in various locations.

The Wellington North solar farm, owned by Lightsource bp, rapidly shutdown soon after 1pm on Saturday, market data shows. The Rural Fire Service reported that a 92 hectare grass fire at the site was brought under control by 2.35pm.

“We can confirm that a fire was reported at our Wellington North solar farm near Wellington, New South Wales, during the heatwave conditions on Saturday 6 December,” Lightsource bp said in a statement emailed to Renew Economy.

“Our incident response protocols were activated immediately, and our teams worked closely with emergency services as they managed the situation. The ongoing safety of those on site and in surrounding areas remains our highest priority.

“The fire is fully under control, and teams are continuing to closely monitor the site. We are highly appreciative of the expertise and swift response of the emergency services in managing the incident. There are no reported incidents of any sheep being affected on the site.”

The solar farm resumed operations on Sunday afternoon, and on Monday, Lightsource bp confirmed that the solar farm was now back up and running at 90 per cent capacity, and is expected to be running at full capacity soon.

“Assessments are ongoing, but damage is limited to the north-east corner of the site,” the company said in a statement. “At this stage, no damage is expected to major equipment.”

Asked about the cause of the fire, the company said in an earlier statement: “The team is working to understand the cause.” The Wellington North solar farm started sending power to the grid in June, 2024.

The incident generated significant interest on social media, with Dubbo deputy mayor Councillor Philip Toynton, an outspoken critic of renewables projects in the area, posting pictures and comments and attracting more than 700 other comments, almost all of them critical of renewables.

“This is the thing that happens with renewable energy,” Toynton, a member of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, said in comments in a video posted to Facebook. “Zero emissions my backside.”

Toynton and others identified the damaged facility as the 200 MW Wellington solar farm. However, that is a separate facility, also developed by Lightsource bp.

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