WA’s biggest solar farm tops list of best performing PV assets in November

Large-scale solar and wind farms generated 3,588GWh over the month of November, almost 20 per cent more than in November 2021, according to the latest data from Rystad Energy senior renewables analyst David Dixon.

Solar’s contribution to this total comes in just under 35%, at 1245GWh for the month – but that is a 59% increase in total solar generation, year on year, up from 781GWh in November 2021.

Rystad’s Dixon says this jump in big total solar output in the space of 12 months comes down to better irradiance with the decreasing impact of La Niña, and the addition of 895MWac of new operational capacity.

The star of the solar show in November was Sun Energy’s 132 MWdc Merredin solar farm in Western Australia, with a capacity factor of 37.7%.

Merredin, which remains – for now – the biggest operational solar farm in WA, is a regular in Rystad’s top solar asset stakes.

Fifty per cent of the project’s output is contracted to power BHP’s Nickel West Kwinana refinery and Kalgoorlie Smelter. It also has development approval to deploy up to 20 MW/40 MWh of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) onsite.

A WA solar project topping Rystad’s performance tables for November is fitting for a state that notched up a record month of renewable generation.

According to AEMO, renewables supplied around 43% of total electricity generated on WA’s main grid in November, while instantaneous penetration records were broken on three consecutive weekends.

The next best big solar performers in Australia in November were both from NSW – Fotowatio Renewable Ventures’ Moree Solar farm, with a capacity factor of 36%, and Neoen’s Griffith Solar farm, with a capacity factor of 34.4%.