Australia’s Wind Power Exceeds 10 GW for First Time
On Friday evening, the collective wind energy output from nearly 100 wind farms connected to Australia’s main grid exceeded the 10 gigawatt mark for the first time, reaching a peak of 10.16 gigawatts (GW) at 9.10 pm.
This achievement caps off a week of remarkable renewable energy milestones, with battery storage also hitting a significant new record by delivering over 2 GW across the National Electricity Market for the first time, peaking at 2,045 megawatts (MW) during the evening demand surge at 5.55 pm on June 20.
Significant Growth in Wind Energy
The new wind output peak marks an impressive increase of nearly 200 MW from the previous record of 9.76 GW, which was established just two weeks prior. This surge is attributed to favourable wind conditions and the commissioning of several large wind projects now operational.
Among these projects are Australia’s two largest wind farms: the Golden Plains project in Victoria, boasting a capacity of 1.33 GW, and Queensland’s MacIntyre project at 930 MW, alongside the 400 MW Clarke Creek project and the 412.5 MW Goyder South project in South Australia.
Record Generation Share
In addition to the wind output record, a new high for wind’s share of total generation was achieved, reaching 42.4 per cent. This occurred a few hours later than the output record, at 4.25 am on Saturday, when grid demand was lower.
As illustrated by a compelling visualisation from ITK’s David Leitch, co-host of Renew Economy’s weekly Energy Insiders podcast, the wind output record on the National Electricity Market (NEM) has seen a dramatic rise over the past year. Just a year ago, the record was approximately 8.5 GW, and five years prior, it was barely above 5 GW.
Future Prospects for Wind Energy
As these and other wind farms achieve full commercial operation, it is anticipated that output records will continue to be broken, along with the overall share of wind generation on the grid.
South Australia, recognised for having the most advanced renewable grid in the country with an average contribution of 75 per cent from wind and solar, also set a new output peak of 2,230 MW earlier on Friday at 6.55 am, according to GPE NEMLog.
Meanwhile, Queensland recorded a new peak for combined wind and solar (excluding rooftop PV) of 3,524 MW at 9.20 am on Friday.
Battery Storage Milestones
The recent battery storage output record surpassed the previous peak of 1,983.7 MW set just a week earlier. This milestone coincides with the commissioning of several new projects, including the Greenbank and Koorangie batteries, as well as the ramping up of capacity for the Waratah Super Battery, which will be the most powerful battery on the NEM, with a capacity of 850 MW and 1680 MWh.
