Four wind farms face federal court over their control settings' effect on South Australian 2016 power blackout
The wind farms penalised for their part in the 2016 South Australian blackout "compromised Australian Energy Market Operator's (AEMO) ability" to secure operating limits on the power system.
Image courtesy ABC News, Adelaide.
Four South Australian wind farm operators faced the federal court in 2020/21 to face penalties for their role in contributing to the statewide power blackout affecting 850,000 homes and businesses in 2016.
A formal review found that overly sensitive protection mechanisms in the wind farms were to blame. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) found the unexpected operation of the control settings resulted in the sudden loss of generation from the wind farms.
In December 2020, the Snowtown 2 wind farm was taken to court by the Australian Energy Regulator and ordered to pay $1 million. In mid 2021, the owner of the Clements Gap Wind Farm, Pacific Hydro, was ordered to pay $1.1 million for failing to obtain written approval for critical systems settings in their wind farms. Hornsdale Wind Farm owner HWF 1 Pty Ltd had to pay $550,0000 for breaching the same rules. The fourth federal court case, against AGL, was set to be decided in August 2021.
In the court proceedings, both Pacific Hydro and Hornsdale admitted that they applied repeat low-voltage ride-through-system settings to their generating units without getting written approval from AEMO and ElectraNet. Justice Richard White found the wind farms' "use of non-approved settings in the present case compromised AEMO's ability to discharge its responsibility because it meant that it was making important decisions concerning the secure operating limits of the power system on the basis of incomplete information".
The court ordered Pacific Hydro and Hornsdale pay towards the Australian Energy Regulator's costs. Both companies made a legal commitment to the Australian Energy Regulator to update their performance standards for the wind farms and to have the updates reviewed by an independent expert.
