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The oversizing of the array compared to the inverter is also because inverters are more expensive per W than panels, so for the cheapest $/kWh there's a sweet spot where the inverter capacity is maxed out for more of the day.
Also it is normal for rooftop solar arrays to produce less their nameplate maximum, since the azimuth and pitch of the roof planes they are put on are rarely optimal, and may suffer varying degrees of overshadowing during the day. So it mostly makes sense for the inverter rating to be less than the solar array size.

My house is “lucky” in that both the azimuth and pitch of the roof plane are almost perfect for maximum solar production in Sydney. Almost couldn't design it any better. As a result, my 5.8 kW array will cap out at the inverter’s 5 kW on sunny days for up to 90 minutes over about 4 months of the year. I feel a bit cheated actually and should have insisted a 6 kW inverter be installed, but I didn’t.
 
As a result, my 5.8 kW array will cap out at the inverter’s 5 kW on sunny days for up to 90 minutes over about 4 months of the year. I feel a bit cheated actually and should have insisted a 6 kW inverter be installed, but I didn’t.
Don't feel cheated. Your panels might be underutilized for those 90 minutes, but the inverter is being underutilized for the other 12 hours of daylight. It's possible the best cost-benefit tradeoff would have been another panel rather than a bigger inverter, to max the inverter out for even longer!
 
The SA grid is an interesting case study because its renewables are solely wind and solar - no hydro - and its only fossil generation is gas - no coal. Of course the usual attack on renewables is “what happens when the sun doesn’t shine and wind doesn’t blow?”.

Turns out it is extremely rare for both of those things to happen. Over the past 12 months in SA, zero renewable generation (no sun or wind) occurred 0.006% of the time, or a total of 30 minutes.

Of course there are shades of grey above this, but even that looks pretty impressive. Renewables generated less than 10% of the state’s power only 2.7% of the time, or a total of 10 days.

Another interesting fact is what proportion of the state’s power was provided by wind when solar production was zero. Over the past 12 months, the answer to that is 52.6%. And 2.3% of the time, the state was entirely powered by wind with the excess exported to Victoria.

So even at night in SA, the majority of power is generated from renewables!
 
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The SA grid is an interesting case study because its renewables are solely wind and solar - no hydro - and its only fossil generation is gas - no coal. Of course the usual attack on renewables is “what happens when the sun doesn’t shine and wind doesn’t blow?”.

Turns out it is extremely rare for both of those things to happen. Over the past 12 months in SA, zero renewable generation (no sun or wind) occurred 0.006% of the time, or a total of 30 minutes.

Of course there are shades of grey above this, but even that looks pretty impressive. Renewables generated less than 10% of the state’s power only 2.7% of the time, or a total of 10 days.

Another interesting fact is what proportion of the state’s power was provided by wind when solar production was zero. Over the past 12 months, the answer to that is 52.6%. And 2.3% of the time, the state was entirely powered by wind with the excess exported to Victoria.

So even at night in SA, the majority of power is generated from renewables!
Thats fantastic stats, especially the 30 minutes for the year with no wind or sun. Our grid in SA has hit capacity though as it cannot deal with all the renewables when its sunny and windy. That excess is preventing any meaningful expansion of renewables, although lots of batteries (private homes and major installations) are being installed now which is enabling more renewables to be installed, and the new nsw interconnector is now underway, which once complete will take more of the SA excess, allowing more renewables to be contructed in our optimal zone for use in areas which arent as optimal.
Now we just need someone to develop a residential scale silent rooftop turbine for night use, when the sun isnt shining.
 
The stats for June - this might be “as bad as it gets” for the year which is still pretty good - over 26%. It will be interesting to see what the stats are next month - only a year ago, national renewable generation was 21.5% In July!

Renewable energy generation for June - average for the month:
  • National - 26.6%
  • TAS - 99.2%
  • SA - 54.0%
  • VIC - 28.7%
  • WA - 21.3%
  • NSW - 18.2%
  • QLD - 15.0%
Peak renewable generation for June - and time of occurrence:
  • National - 48.1% on 05 Jun 12:45
  • TAS - 100.0% on many occasions
  • SA - 87.6% on 07 Jun 13:00
  • WA - 63.5% on 26 Jun 14:45
  • VIC - 59.8% on 24 Jun 11:00
  • QLD - 48.2% on 05 Jun 11:15
  • NSW - 39.7% on 27 Jun 12:15
Small Scale / Rooftop solar as a proportion of all generation for June - invisible to AEMO:
  • National - 4.3%
  • WA - 7.2%
  • SA - 6.5%
  • QLD - 5.8%
  • NSW - 3.5%
  • VIC - 2.8%
  • TAS - 0.6%
Renewable mix for June - solar includes small-scale solar, hydro includes pumped hydro:
  • National - Wind: 41.7%, Solar: 25.0%, Hydro: 33.2%
  • NSW - Wind: 39.5%, Solar: 31.8%, Hydro: 28.7%
  • QLD - Wind: 19.8%, Solar: 66.7%, Hydro: 13.5%
  • SA - Wind: 82.8%, Solar: 17.2%, Hydro: 0.0%
  • TAS - Wind: 10.6%, Solar: 0.6%, Hydro: 88.8%
  • VIC - Wind: 55.8%, Solar: 14.8%, Hydro: 29.4%
  • WA - Wind: 62.9%, Solar: 37.1%, Hydro: 0.0%
 
The stats for June. Renewable generation was a staggering 6.6% higher this July compared to last! Wind generation also created a new record this month, peaking over 6 GW which no doubt helped!

Renewable energy generation for July - average for the month:
  • National - 28.1%
  • TAS - 99.9%
  • SA - 60.6%
  • VIC - 29.7%
  • WA - 24.2%
  • NSW - 18.8%
  • QLD - 16.1%
Peak renewable generation for July - and time of occurrence:
  • National - 51.6% on 29 Jul 13:00
  • TAS - 100.0% on many occasions
  • SA - 88.9% on 26 Jul 11:45
  • WA - 61.5% on 11 Jul 14:15
  • VIC - 54.3% on 30 Jul 11:45
  • NSW - 51.0% on 29 Jul 11:45
  • QLD - 47.0% on 25 Jul 11:15
Small Scale / Rooftop solar as a proportion of all generation for July - invisible to AEMO:
  • National - 4.4%
  • SA - 6.5%
  • WA - 6.2%
  • QLD - 5.8%
  • NSW - 4.0%
  • VIC - 2.9%
  • TAS - 0.7%
Renewable mix for July - solar includes small-scale solar, hydro includes pumped hydro:
  • National - Wind: 48.3%, Solar: 24.9%, Hydro: 26.9%
  • NSW - Wind: 47.6%, Solar: 35.6%, Hydro: 16.8%
  • QLD - Wind: 20.8%, Solar: 66.6%, Hydro: 12.6%
  • SA - Wind: 84.6%, Solar: 15.4%, Hydro: 0.0%
  • TAS - Wind: 14.6%, Solar: 0.7%, Hydro: 84.7%
  • VIC - Wind: 66.0%, Solar: 13.8%, Hydro: 20.2%
  • WA - Wind: 71.6%, Solar: 28.4%, Hydro: 0.0%
 
The stats for August. We’ve already hit 30% renewable for the country in August and 30.3% is the highest ever. 30% was only previously achieved once, in December 2020. This renewable percentage is also 5.2% higher than August last year - demonstrating the rapid growth of renewable generation in Australia despite the Federal Government.

And we’ve hit a record instantaneous peak renewable percentage - almost 55% on 22 August at 1pm.

Renewable energy generation for August - average for the month:
  • National - 30.3%
  • TAS - 100.0%
  • SA - 57.0%
  • VIC - 32.0%
  • WA - 26.2%
  • NSW - 21.3%
  • QLD - 16.8%
Peak renewable generation for August - and time of occurrence:
  • National - 54.9% on 22 Aug 13:00
  • TAS - 100.0% on many occasions
  • SA - 88.9% on 03 Aug 14:30
  • WA - 69.8% on 15 Aug 13:45
  • VIC - 66.6% on 28 Aug 12:00
  • NSW - 55.2% on 22 Aug 12:45
  • QLD - 47.5% on 04 Aug 12:15
Small Scale / Rooftop solar as a proportion of all generation for August - invisible to AEMO:
  • National - 6.1%
  • SA - 10.4%
  • WA - 9.3%
  • QLD - 7.0%
  • NSW - 5.6%
  • VIC - 4.7%
  • TAS - 0.8%
Renewable mix for August - solar includes small-scale solar, hydro includes pumped hydro:
  • National - Wind: 43.2%, Solar: 32.0%, Hydro: 24.9%
  • NSW - Wind: 41.9%, Solar: 47.7%, Hydro: 10.4%
  • QLD - Wind: 21.3%, Solar: 72.8%, Hydro: 5.9%
  • SA - Wind: 74.3%, Solar: 25.7%, Hydro: 0.0%
  • TAS - Wind: 14.8%, Solar: 0.8%, Hydro: 84.4%
  • VIC - Wind: 64.8%, Solar: 21.7%, Hydro: 13.5%
  • WA - Wind: 60.2%, Solar: 39.8%, Hydro: 0.0%
 
Some lockdown fun facts time... I downloaded the monthly stats from OpenNEM and produced these charts.

As reported above, August was a record for Australia for renewables as a percentage of all power generation. OpenNEM put it at 31.6% so a little different to my number but I'm not complaining.

The first chart below shows the growth in renewable generation since 1998 (stacked area chart, scale on left) and the renewable percentage over that time (dotted line, scale on right). The growth in renewables has been particularly pronounced over the past 4 years.

renew1.png

But another interesting record was created in August: for the first time ever in this country, renewables generated more than half the power that coal did: 51%. The chart below shows the total generation of coal (black+brown) over time compared to all renewables (hydro+wind+solar), and the percentage that represents of what coal generated.

renew2.png

Coal generation peaked in July 2007 at 16.3 TWh and has been in a general decline since. It's interesting that coal generation declined between July 2008 and June 2013 (I think we know why) before a partial renaissance until mid 2016 (I think we also know why). But you can't defy economic gravity forever, and it's a one-way trip down from here. In October last year, coal generation almost went below 10 TWh for the first time since who knows when. It is only a matter of time before it does, permanently.

Trending the two lines forward based on the past fours years, renewables will overtake coal power generation in mid-2026. Given the growth of renewables is not linear, I expect that to happen more quickly - somewhere between 3 and 4 years' time. For example, Liddell power station in NSW will be closed in 2023, removing nearly 8% of Australia's current coal-fired power generation.
 
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Stats for September. More renewable records utterly smashed! 34% renewable generation for the month - breaking the record set only last month by a whopping 3.7% in one go. And peak renewable generation hitting nearly 62%. Wow. Just wow - it was 54.9% last month.

It looks like most states have also created their own monthly records too - I haven’t done an exhaustive check.

NSW went up by nearly 5% in a month - what was an RE laggard is starting to move with the effects of some significant policy changes over the last couple of years starting to be realised. QLD - tsk, tsk, simply not good enough, you really must do better. You can’t be captive to the coal lobby forever, you are missing out on an investment boom.

Renewable energy generation for September - average for the month:
  • National - 34.0%
  • TAS - 100.0%
  • SA - 65.7%
  • VIC - 36.0%
  • WA - 32.4%
  • NSW - 26.0%
  • QLD - 18.8%
Peak renewable generation for September - and time of occurrence:
  • National - 61.9% on 24 Sep 13:15
  • TAS - 100.0%
  • SA - 87.5% on 04 Sep 12:15
  • WA - 75.9% on 07 Sep 14:15
  • VIC - 66.0% on 24 Sep 15:00
  • NSW - 60.7% on 24 Sep 11:15
  • QLD - 49.6% on 07 Sep 11:15
Small Scale / Rooftop solar as a proportion of all generation for September - invisible to AEMO:
  • National - 8.1%
  • WA - 14.3%
  • SA - 13.8%
  • QLD - 8.2%
  • NSW - 7.4%
  • VIC - 6.8%
  • TAS - 1.4%
Renewable mix for September - solar includes small-scale solar, hydro includes pumped hydro:
  • National - Wind: 39.9%, Solar: 37.1%, Hydro: 23.0%
  • NSW - Wind: 36.5%, Solar: 53.0%, Hydro: 10.5%
  • QLD - Wind: 20.0%, Solar: 71.2%, Hydro: 8.9%
  • SA - Wind: 71.6%, Solar: 28.4%, Hydro: 0.0%
  • TAS - Wind: 15.1%, Solar: 1.4%, Hydro: 83.5%
  • VIC - Wind: 57.0%, Solar: 29.1%, Hydro: 13.9%
  • WA - Wind: 51.7%, Solar: 48.3%, Hydro: 0.0%
 
Renewable energy generation for September (2020) - average for the month:
  • National - 28.4%
  • TAS - 99.5%
  • SA - 66.4%
  • VIC - 28.0%
  • NSW - 20.4%
  • WA - 18.9%
  • QLD - 16.9%

Renewable energy generation for September (2021) - average for the month:
  • National - 34.0%
  • TAS - 100.0%
  • SA - 65.7%
  • VIC - 36.0%
  • WA - 32.4%
  • NSW - 26.0%
  • QLD - 18.8%

Thanks Vostok, I look forward to this information each month!

Here is a table since you have been publishing this information.
Jul-20​
Aug-20​
Sep-20​
Oct-20​
Nov-20​
Dec-20​
Jan-21​
Feb-21​
Mar-21​
Apr-21​
May-21​
Jun-21​
Jul-21​
Aug-21​
Sep-21​
National
21.5​
25.1​
28.4​
28.8​
29.5​
30.0​
29.9​
29.4​
28.9​
27.9​
27.3​
26.6​
28.1​
30.3​
34.0​
Tas
97.9​
97.1​
99.5​
99.6​
98.8​
99.8​
99.7​
100.0​
99.9​
99.8​
99.2​
99.2​
99.9​
100.0​
100.0​
SA
37.6​
55.1​
66.4​
63.4​
67.0​
73.2​
72.4​
72.6​
69.3​
56.4​
55.0​
54.0​
60.6​
57.0​
65.7​
Vic
22.9​
25.7​
28.0​
31.7​
29.7​
28.9​
30.3​
28.1​
27.6​
27.8​
28.0​
28.7​
29.7​
32.0​
36.0​
WA
14.0​
16.2​
18.9​
25.3​
27.4​
36.5​
35.0​
36.3​
30.8​
22.5​
22.6​
21.3​
24.2​
26.2​
32.4​
NSW
12.7​
18.5​
20.4​
20.4​
23.3​
26.1​
24.4​
24.4​
24.1​
22.4​
20.3​
18.2​
18.8​
21.3​
26.0​
Qld
13.1​
15.1​
16.9​
15.8​
18.7​
15.1​
17.1​
16.1​
16.0​
15.7​
15.8​
15.0​
16.1​
16.8​
18.8​

Here is the change over the same month last year...
Jul-21
Aug-21
Sep-21
National
6.6​
5.2​
5.6​
Tas
2.0​
2.9​
0.5​
SA
23.0​
1.9​
-0.7
Vic
6.8​
6.3​
8.0​
WA
10.2​
10.0​
13.5​
NSW
6.1​
2.8​
5.6​
Qld
3.0​
1.7​
1.9​

It looks like SA had a step change in Aug/Sep 2020 (or July 2020 was a very bad month). Looks to have stablised at around 55-65% for non summer months.
WA had a step change of 10% over the year.
Yes, Queensland have a lot of catch up to do.

5.2 to 6.2% increase year on year for July - September Nationally.
Only ~12 years to get to 100%. ;)

Let's see if we can vote a federal government in next year that will set a target of 100% for 2030!
 
Thanks Vostok, I look forward to this information each month!

Here is a table since you have been publishing this information.
Jul-20​
Aug-20​
Sep-20​
Oct-20​
Nov-20​
Dec-20​
Jan-21​
Feb-21​
Mar-21​
Apr-21​
May-21​
Jun-21​
Jul-21​
Aug-21​
Sep-21​
National
21.5​
25.1​
28.4​
28.8​
29.5​
30.0​
29.9​
29.4​
28.9​
27.9​
27.3​
26.6​
28.1​
30.3​
34.0​
Tas
97.9​
97.1​
99.5​
99.6​
98.8​
99.8​
99.7​
100.0​
99.9​
99.8​
99.2​
99.2​
99.9​
100.0​
100.0​
SA
37.6​
55.1​
66.4​
63.4​
67.0​
73.2​
72.4​
72.6​
69.3​
56.4​
55.0​
54.0​
60.6​
57.0​
65.7​
Vic
22.9​
25.7​
28.0​
31.7​
29.7​
28.9​
30.3​
28.1​
27.6​
27.8​
28.0​
28.7​
29.7​
32.0​
36.0​
WA
14.0​
16.2​
18.9​
25.3​
27.4​
36.5​
35.0​
36.3​
30.8​
22.5​
22.6​
21.3​
24.2​
26.2​
32.4​
NSW
12.7​
18.5​
20.4​
20.4​
23.3​
26.1​
24.4​
24.4​
24.1​
22.4​
20.3​
18.2​
18.8​
21.3​
26.0​
Qld
13.1​
15.1​
16.9​
15.8​
18.7​
15.1​
17.1​
16.1​
16.0​
15.7​
15.8​
15.0​
16.1​
16.8​
18.8​

Here is the change over the same month last year...
Jul-21
Aug-21
Sep-21
National
6.6​
5.2​
5.6​
Tas
2.0​
2.9​
0.5​
SA
23.0​
1.9​
-0.7
Vic
6.8​
6.3​
8.0​
WA
10.2​
10.0​
13.5​
NSW
6.1​
2.8​
5.6​
Qld
3.0​
1.7​
1.9​

It looks like SA had a step change in Aug/Sep 2020 (or July 2020 was a very bad month). Looks to have stablised at around 55-65% for non summer months.
WA had a step change of 10% over the year.
Yes, Queensland have a lot of catch up to do.

5.2 to 6.2% increase year on year for July - September Nationally.
Only ~12 years to get to 100%. ;)

Let's see if we can vote a federal government in next year that will set a target of 100% for 2030!
Cool stuff… you’ve saved me some work 😄

I think SA had a wind drought in Jul 2020 so it’s a bit of an outlier. Their RE percentage has been pretty consistent since then.

WA and QLD are too dependent on solar for their RE - QLD the most. They can reach decent RE percentages during the day but very little at night. Whereas SA wind power is about double the size of their solar - which is probably about the right proprortion to make RE generation more reliable and predictable to replace fossil sources. Even at night, SA averages about 55% RE.
 
Another article about renewables smashing records…


At least AEMO now seems to be aware there’s this thing called rooftop solar generating about 10% of the nation’s electricity, and they can’t ignore it any more.
 
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Stats for October. September records beaten. Every state also peaked above 50% renewable for the first time.

Renewable energy generation for October - average for the month:
  • National - 34.7%
  • TAS - 100.0%
  • SA - 73.8%
  • WA - 33.8%
  • VIC - 33.5%
  • NSW - 29.7%
  • QLD - 19.6%
Peak renewable generation for October - and time of occurrence:
  • National - 60.9% on 30 Oct 12:45
  • TAS - 100.0%
  • SA - 89.6% on 26 Oct 14:15
  • WA - 73.0% on 27 Oct 14:15
  • NSW - 66.9% on 16 Oct 12:45
  • VIC - 66.1% on 27 Oct 11:45
  • QLD - 51.7% on 30 Oct 12:45
Small Scale / Rooftop solar as a proportion of all generation for October - invisible to AEMO:
  • National - 9.5%
  • SA - 19.2%
  • WA - 15.4%
  • QLD - 9.0%
  • NSW - 8.9%
  • VIC - 8.1%
  • TAS - 1.8%
Renewable mix for October - solar includes small-scale solar, hydro includes pumped hydro:
  • National - Wind: 35.6%, Solar: 41.7%, Hydro: 22.7%
  • NSW - Wind: 31.0%, Solar: 52.8%, Hydro: 16.2%
  • QLD - Wind: 13.3%, Solar: 75.2%, Hydro: 11.5%
  • SA - Wind: 66.8%, Solar: 33.2%, Hydro: 0.0%
  • TAS - Wind: 15.6%, Solar: 1.8%, Hydro: 82.5%
  • VIC - Wind: 50.8%, Solar: 36.5%, Hydro: 12.7%
  • WA - Wind: 49.4%, Solar: 50.6%, Hydro: 0.0%

I’m going to add a “Sun Not Shining Wind Not Blowing” (SNSWNB) index to show how much time non-hydro renewables generate zero power. I suspect the number is much smaller than what we’d think.
 
Stats for November. October records beaten. NSW percentage down due to widespread and long-lasting overcast conditions, but VIC up nicely. WA over 40% for the first time.

Renewable energy generation for November - average for the month:
  • National - 35.0%
  • TAS - 100.0%
  • SA - 76.0%
  • WA - 40.7%
  • VIC - 38.1%
  • NSW - 26.3%
  • QLD - 19.2%
Peak renewable generation for November - and time of occurrence:
  • National - 62.6% on 15 Nov 14:15
  • TAS - 100.0%
  • SA - 96.4% on 27 Nov 13:00
  • WA - 78.1% on 07 Nov 15:30
  • VIC - 68.1% on 27 Nov 13:45
  • NSW - 65.7% on 15 Nov 12:45
  • QLD - 51.4% on 15 Nov 13:15
Small Scale / Rooftop solar as a proportion of all generation for November - invisible to AEMO:
  • National - 9.8%
  • SA - 22.3%
  • WA - 19.8%
  • VIC - 9.3%
  • QLD - 8.5%
  • NSW - 7.8%
  • TAS - 2.5%
Renewable mix for November - solar includes small-scale solar, hydro includes pumped hydro:
  • National - Wind: 36.3%, Solar: 40.8%, Hydro: 22.9%
  • NSW - Wind: 36.8%, Solar: 49.2%, Hydro: 14.0%
  • QLD - Wind: 15.5%, Solar: 72.7%, Hydro: 11.9%
  • SA - Wind: 62.7%, Solar: 37.3%, Hydro: 0.0%
  • TAS - Wind: 12.0%, Solar: 2.5%, Hydro: 85.5%
  • VIC - Wind: 48.4%, Solar: 34.3%, Hydro: 17.3%
  • WA - Wind: 46.3%, Solar: 53.7%, Hydro: 0.0%
 
Happy new year, TMC crowd!

Renewable stats for December. 36.8% is a new national record, with individual records for NSW, VIC, QLD and a special mention to SA cracking 80% for the first time.

Renewable energy generation for December - average for the month:
  • National - 36.8%
  • TAS - 100.0%
  • SA - 80.4%
  • WA - 39.7%
  • VIC - 37.2%
  • NSW - 32.0%
  • QLD - 22.5%
Peak renewable generation for December - and time of occurrence:
  • National - 59.9% on 12 Dec 10:45
  • TAS - 100.0%
  • SA - 98.0% on 24 Dec 16:15
  • WA - 79.5% on 14 Dec 13:00
  • VIC - 63.8% on 20 Dec 15:45
  • NSW - 61.0% on 31 Dec 12:30
  • QLD - 53.6% on 11 Dec 11:15
Small Scale / Rooftop solar as a proportion of all generation for December - invisible to AEMO:
  • National - 12.7%
  • SA - 29.8%
  • WA - 18.7%
  • VIC - 11.8%
  • QLD - 11.1%
  • NSW - 10.6%
  • TAS - 4.5%
Renewable mix for December - solar includes small-scale solar, hydro includes pumped hydro:
  • National - Wind: 31.7%, Solar: 52.3%, Hydro: 16.0%
  • NSW - Wind: 21.0%, Solar: 65.3%, Hydro: 13.6%
  • QLD - Wind: 9.9%, Solar: 79.5%, Hydro: 10.6%
  • SA - Wind: 53.1%, Solar: 46.9%, Hydro: 0.0%
  • TAS - Wind: 18.6%, Solar: 4.5%, Hydro: 76.9%
  • VIC - Wind: 46.8%, Solar: 43.0%, Hydro: 10.2%
  • WA - Wind: 47.7%, Solar: 52.3%, Hydro: 0.0%