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The Walla Walla solar PV plant (above) was one project referenced as providing a significant amount of energy on the record-breaking day. Image: FRV Australia.
New South Wales, Australia, set a new solar generation state record on Tuesday (21 January), with a maximum output of 3,525MW at 11:30am.
According to a LinkedIn post by Geoff Eldridge, National Electricity Market (NEM) and energy transition observer at consultancy Global Power Energy, this solar output surpassed the previous record set on 20 December by 76.43MW.
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This also represents a remarkable increase in 2023, with Eldridge noting that New South Wales achieved an output of 2,986MW on 18 November. This is an increase of 18.1% year-on-year.
Several key drivers have resulted in the new record being set. Perhaps the most prominent is the growing number of utility-scale solar PV power plants that have gone into service since 2024.
David Dixon, a senior analyst at Rystad Energy, noted this last week (13 January), stating that New South Wales was the best-performing state in Australia for utility-scale solar PV generation in December 2024.
Two solar PV power plants have been recognised as key drivers of January’s record-setting day. These are the 330MW Wellington North solar PV power plant in the Orana region and Fotowatio Renewable Ventures Australia’s 353MW Walla Walla solar PV power plant.
According to Dixon’s analysis, the Wellington North solar PV power plant was the seventh top-performing solar asset in December 2024, yet the Walla Walla project did not make the top 20. This could be due to the plant being divided into two 134MW power plants each.
The importance of solar PV in New South Wales’ energy transition
Utility-scale solar PV will play a big part in reducing the state’s reliance on fossil fuels, such as coal-fired power stations, with Australia’s largest, the Eraring Power Station, housed in New South Wales.
It is worth noting that the Eraring Power Station is currently the location of Australia’s largest battery energy storage system (BESS) development and will help reduce the strain on the grid following its scheduled commissioning in August 2027.
The state’s solar sector was aided by the first tender round of the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS), which saw New South Wales and Victoria awarded the majority of the support for its projects.
In total, 19 projects have successfully completed the tender process, with the majority located in New South Wales and Victoria, with seven projects each. Queensland saw three successful projects, whilst South Australia secured two projects.
In New South Wales, developers Elgin Energy and Lightsource bp succeeded with their respective solar PV projects. Elgin Energy saw a bid for its 60MW Glanmire solar-plus-storage project, featuring a 104MWh BESS accepted.
Lightsource bp, on the other hand, saw two projects, its 700MW Sandy Creek and 450MW Goulburn River solar PV power plants, successful in tender one. The Goulburn River project recently received development consent from the Australian government.
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