A large grass fire has forced one of Australia’s biggest solar farms – the 400 megawatt (MW) Wellington North facility in the central west of NSW – offline. Damage is still being assessed.
The fire erupted in the early afternoon on Saturday, amid heatwave conditions that created fires across the state and caused the loss of dozens of homes and other buildings in various locations.
The Wellington North solar farm, owned by Lightsource bp, rapidly shutdown soon after 1pm on Saturday, market data shows. The Rural Fire Service reported that a 92 hectare grass fire at the site was brought under control by 2.35pm.
“We can confirm that a fire was reported at our Wellington North solar farm near Wellington, New South Wales, during the heatwave conditions on Saturday 6 December,” Lightsource bp said in a statement emailed to Renew Economy.
“Our incident response protocols were activated immediately, and our teams worked closely with emergency services as they managed the situation. The ongoing safety of those on site and in surrounding areas remains our highest priority.
“The fire is fully under control, and teams are continuing to closely monitor the site. We are highly appreciative of the expertise and swift response of the emergency services in managing the incident.”
In response to questions from Renew Economy, the company said it is currently assessing the impact to the site and is working to restore operations in coming days.
Asked about the cause, the company said: “The team is working to understand the cause.” The Wellington North solar farm started sending power to the grid in June, 2024.
The incident generated significant interest on social media, with Dubbo deputy mayor Councillor Philip Toynton, an outspoken critic of renewables projects in the area, posting pictures and comments and attracting more than 700 other comments, almost all of them critical of renewables.
“This is the thing that happens with renewable energy,” Toynton, a member of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, said in comments in a video posted to Facebook. “Zero emissions my backside.”
Toynton and others identified the damaged facility as the 200 MW Wellington solar farm. However, that is a separate facility, also developed by Lightsource bp but since sold.
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Giles Parkinson is founder and editor-in-chief of Renew Economy, and founder and editor of its EV-focused sister site The Driven. He is the co-host of the weekly Energy Insiders Podcast. Giles has been a journalist for more than 40 years and is a former deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review. You can find him on LinkedIn and on Twitter.