Australian Chart of the week | Don’t let the sun go down on me: solar in the sunshine state

Previously, in Issue 45, we examined how wind and solar technologies are performing against (and impacting) the time-of-day price shape in New South Wales (NSW). In this Chart of the Week, we move further north to examine the situation in Queensland and the profound impact solar is beginning to have on the merchant market in the state. We also provide some commentary on our Benchmark Power Curve price forecast and its anticipation of these changes last year.

To understand the potential for solar in the NEM, one should look no further than Queensland; the sunshine state. In just under four years, the installed capacity for grid-scale solar in the state has grown from close to nothing to just under 2GW. By comparison, installed capacity for wind in the state is only about a third of solar at ~650MW.

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