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.
To join more than 29,000 others and get the latest clean energy news delivered straight to your inbox, for free, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.
Sophie Vorrath
Sophie is editor of Renew Economy and editor of its sister site, One Step Off The Grid . She is the co-host of the Solar Insiders Podcast. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
Share this:
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Print