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The operators of a wind farm in central north South Australia were charged $ 1 million by federal court for failing to comply with prescribed performance standards in the run-up to the nationwide power blackout in September 2016.
In a ruling on Tuesday, the court also ordered that the operators of the Level 2 wind farm in Snowtown should hire a compliance expert to review their operations and report any gaps.
Judge Richard White found that the wind farm had violated national electricity regulations by operating for about three years with insufficient settings to handle or « drive through » disruptions in the power grid.
Justice White said the wind farm’s violation of the rules was serious and the use of unapproved settings would affect AEMO’s ability to provide safe power services.
« As the events of 28. September 2016 show that compromising the security of the power system can have far-reaching and serious consequences, « he said.
In the immediate run-up to the nationwide power outage, severe storms damaged more than 20 towers in north-central South Africa, crashed key transmission lines and caused a knock-on effect across the state’s power grid.
About 850. 000 customers lost power, some in the north of the state and the Eyre Peninsula were without power for several days.
A report by AEMO published about a month later found that nine out of 13 wind farms were online at the time of the power outage when the transmission lines went down.
The wind farms’ inability to overcome these disruptions was the result of security adjustments that forced them to disconnect or reduce power.
The $ 1 million fine and compliance review ordered by Justice White were in line with a position agreed between the parties, including the Australian Energy Regulator, which initiated the lawsuit.
Wind farm, wind turbine, power failure, South Australia, wind farm Snowtown
World news – AU – Wind farm with 1 million. USD fine for blackout issues
Ref: https://7news.com.au
