Renewable generation in the NEM (and WEM) in Australia have been facing increasing curtailment in recent years, with multiple utility-scale solar farms now seeing annual curtailed generation of over 50%, resulting in sub-economic commercial outcomes and significant operational challenges. This scenario is also impacting wind generation with drops of 5-10% in capacity factors already occurring across all NEM and WEM regions.

Among the utility-scale curtailment, unresponsive rooftop PV continues to grow at ~3.5TWh per year, resulting in 20-25% of spot market outcomes being negative in some regions, mostly between 10am-3pm and especially on weekends. And whilst utility-scale BESS continues at a 1GW/yr, it is not enough to prevent the curtailment or low prices.

Therefore, utility-scale hybrid generation is now far more attractive, with a 100MW Hybrid Solar farm entering full commercial operation in 2025. Cunderdin Hybrid Solar, a 100MW Solar, 55MW/220MWh DC-coupled BESS in the WEM, provides a useful real-world use case of the difference between dispatch outcomes when compared to the 100MW Merridan Solar farm, located 100km away. This presentation will provide some of the learnings and observations from the front line of that project in assisting Australian participants with commercial, technical and operational challenges of increasing renewable penetration.