Solar records round out summer, all across the country

February 2024 – the final month of summer, although no one has told the weather gods – was a bumper month for solar, with new monthly records for utility PV generation set in all NEM states except Tasmania.

According to the latest data from Rystad Energy, a big solar contribution from New South Wales – which generated 725GWh from large-scale PV in February – also saw the state’s utility solar assets dominate the ranks of the top performers.

Victoria’s Gannawarra solar farm topped the list of the best performing PV assets for the month, with a capacity factor (CF) of 38.6%, but NSW was home to eight of the top 10 – and 12 of the top 20 – including Neoen’s Griffith solar farm (38.3%CF) and John Laing’s Finley solar farm (37.4% AC CF).

NSW was once again in top spot for overall renewables generation: a total of 1,225 GWh for the month, with 725GWh from solar and 500GWh from wind.

For wind new monthly (February) records were set in New South Wales and Tasmania, while the top three performing assets were once again in Western Australia.

These were the RATCH-Australia/Alinta Energy Yandin wind farm (51.5% CF), DIF Capital Partners’s Warradarge wind farm (50.0% CF) and APA Group’s Badgingarra wind farm (48.9% CF).

Victoria’s Cherry Tree wind farm was also in the top five while two South Australian projects took out fourth and fifth position in the rankings: the Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park and Hornsdale wind farm, stage 1.