Western Australia or Windy Australia? Latest data cements the west as best

Western Australia’s wind farms once again topped the performance charts in February, a month where the nation’s wind assets helped drive a 12 per cent jump in power generated by renewables, year-on-year.

The latest monthly data from Rystad Energy reveals all Australian utility solar and wind assets generating 3751GWh, up from 3347GWh in February 2022.

Rystad’s David Dixon says the best performing wind assets for the month were all located in WA, including APA Group’s Badgingarra wind farm, with a capacity factor of 54.7%, RATCH-Australia/Alinta Energy’s Yandin (53.9% CF) and Iberdrola Australia’s Walkaway wind farm (51.5% CF).

Iberdrola Australia’s Port August Renewable Energy Park in South Australia also placed in the top five – see chart above – with a capacity factor of 46.8% in February.

Indeed, South Australia’s huge wind and solar share helped squeeze the state’s contribution from gas generation down to 204GWh for the month, Dixon notes, “significantly below” its usual range for February of 240-580GWh.

In terms of new capacity, Dixon says Victoria was the only state to chart any any “meaningful growth” in wind generation, with an increase of 17% or 111GWh.

See our report on the best performing solar farms here: Coal feels the squeeze as big solar shines in New South Wales