Solar sets another Australia generation record, 59.2 percent of total

Renew Economy:

The combination of large scale and rooftop solar set new generation records on a sunny and mild spring day on Sunday, at the same time as sending grid demand – and the demand for coal – down to new lows.

The new records continue the story of a rapidly changing grid. High levels of renewable penetration may only be short-lived for the moment, but with dozens of gigawatts of new wind, solar and storage capacity to be added in coming years, they also tell a story of the future.

On Sunday, around 10.50 (grid time, which is AEST), big and small solar combined to set two new records for the share of total generation – leaping to 59.2 per cent and easily beating the 56.7 per cent level reached just a day earlier on Saturday.

Even in NSW, with the country’s biggest coal fleet of more than 10GW, the share of large scale and rooftop PV reached a new record of 63.15 per cent at 11.15am, beating the 62 per cent reached earlier last month.

[Giles Parkinson]

More: Solar nears 60pct of grid generation for first time, taking biggest bite yet out of coal’s lunch