Sunshine state sets new solar record – in the middle of winter

Queensland has set a new record for the share of solar power in its electricity mix – in the middle of winter – part of a “useful snapshot” of changing daytime operating conditions in Australia’s Sunshine state.

According to Geoff Eldridge, from Global Power Energy, large-scale solar in supplied a record 38.2 per cent of Queensland’s electricity consumption at 9:10am on July 26, a Sunday morning, beating the state’s previous record of 37.1% set on April 25.

“The timing is notable,” says Eldridge on LinkedIn. “In the middle of winter, utility-scale solar output was about 3,097 megawatts (MW) against consumption of around 8,112 MW.” Eldridge says solar output later peaked at 3.1 MW delivering Queensland’s 10th-highest daily maximum.

With all of that solar, a record was also set for battery-stored energy, Eldridge says, reaching 5,646 megawatt-hours at 3.30pm. The maximum RES share – that is, renewable generation plus storage output – reached just under 76 per cent of of consumption (rank 16).

“A winter solar-share record, record battery stored energy and a high RES share on the same day provide a useful snapshot of Queensland’s changing daytime operating conditions,” Eldridge says.

As the chart above shows, there was also some curtailment – “see the restrained Pink Dolphin Curve surfacing at the top – even if big batteries and pumped-hydro absorbed part of the daytime surplus.

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