Heatwave grass fire at Wellington North Solar Farm cuts output 10 percent

In December 2025, a grass fire broke out shortly after midday at Wellington North Solar Farm, a utility scale solar PV facility of several hundred megawatts near Wellington, close to Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia, operated and owned by Lightsource bp. The state rural fire service responded during a regional heatwave in which multiple bushfires were burning concurrently. Around 90 hectares within the site boundary burned and the fire was reported under control within about 90 minutes. The facility was disconnected from the grid during the response. Emergency services left the site the following day and the operator returned the plant to service later that afternoon at reduced capacity. By the next day the site was reported to be operating at approximately 90 percent of capacity, the shortfall attributed in reporting to damage to modules and associated infrastructure within the burned area. The site uses sheep grazing for vegetation management and no animal injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was under investigation at the time of reporting.

Public reporting stated that the fire occurred during a state wide heatwave with multiple concurrent bushfires, and that Lightsource bp and the fire service were investigating the cause. No ignition source was established in reporting. Reporting also noted the presence of grass fuel within the site despite grazing being used for vegetation management. No information was published on fire detection or suppression arrangements at the site.

1. Include fire propagation from outside the site boundary, not only internal ignition, in the site fire risk assessment, and verify that perimeter firebreaks, access tracks and water supply points support that scenario.
2. Treat fire related outage as a foreseeable operational risk at sites in hot, fire prone regions, and hold spare modules, cabling and combiner equipment together with pre agreed contractor call off arrangements so partial repairs can start quickly.
3. Do not rely on grazing alone for fuel load control, supplement it with slashing, firebreak maintenance and documented fuel load inspections ahead of and during heatwave periods.
4. Agree access, isolation points, DC hazard information and an emergency plan with the local fire service before the fire season, and offer site familiarisation so responders can work safely near energised arrays.
5. Design electrical zoning and isolation so undamaged sections can be returned to service while damaged areas remain isolated, and plan incident recovery as a phased restoration rather than a single full return to service.
6. Record the burned area, damaged equipment and measured capacity loss promptly to support insurance claims, grid notifications and availability reporting.
7. Review early detection options for large arrays, such as scheduled thermal imaging or aerial inspection, and define who monitors alarms and what action follows.
8. Brief neighbouring landholders and local authorities on the site fire prevention measures ahead of the fire season rather than only after an incident.

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