The combined output of wind and solar have overtaken the principal fossil fuel sources of coal and gas generation in Western Australia for the first time in the month of October.

According to data provided by OpenNem.org.au, wind and solar provided nearly 550GWh of output into W.A.’s South West Interconnected System – the state’s main grid – in the month of October. That beat the coal output for the first time (452GWh), and the addition of a small amount of biomass, also beat gas for the first time (553MWh).

It’s a significant milestone for the W.A. grid, and follows the recent connection of three significant large scale projects, the 100MW Merredin solar farm (the largest in the state), and the 214MW Yandin wind farm and the 180MW  (the largest and third largest in the state).

Still, rooftop solar still provides nearly half of the renewable energy output in the state, and will continue to grow its share as there are few opportunities for more large scale wind and solar until the next wave of coal fired power station closures, expected in 2023.

The SWIS data base is the latest addition for the OpenNem online facility, which had previously been focused only on the main National Electricity Market based on the eastern states.