Two South Australian wind farms have been ordered to pay more than $1.6 million in penalties for breaching National Energy Rules in the lead-up to 2016’s catastrophic statewide blackout, the ABC reported.
The Federal Court ordered Pacific Hydro, owner of the Clements Gap Wind Farm, to pay $1.1 million for failing to obtain written approval for critical systems settings in their wind farms. HWF 1 Pty Ltd, owner of the Hornsdale Wind Farm, was ordered to pay $550,000 for the same rule breach.
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Pacific Hydro and HWF 1 Pty Ltd were among four operators taken to court by the Australian Energy Regulator after the 2016 blackout, which resulted in the loss of power to 850,000 homes and businesses. In December last year, the owner of the Snowtown 2 Wind Farm was ordered to pay $1 million while the final litigation, against AGL, is scheduled for August.
A formal review of the blackout found overly sensitive protection mechanisms in some South Australian 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 the court proceedings, both Pacific Hydro and HWF 1 Pty Ltd admitted they applied repeat low-voltage ride through system settings to their generating units without prior written approval from AEMO and ElectraNet.
As part of the settlement deal, the Australian Energy Regulator withdrew its allegations that the application of the settings was a “contributing cause” of the blackout. But Justice Richard White found the operators’ “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”.
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The court ordered Pacific Hydro and Hornsdale to contribute to the AER’s legal costs. Both companies have also made a legal commitment to the AER to update their performance standards for the wind farms and to have the updates reviewed by an independent expert.
The penalties against Pacific Hydro and Hornsdale were imposed in accordance with the earlier penalty regime. New maximum penalties for breaches of the National Energy Laws could result in businesses being fined more than $10 million.
