Berrybank 1 and Berrybank 2 Wind Farms offline since Tuesday morning 4th February following wind turbine collapse

Whilst I have the ‘Bids & Offers’ widget opened within ez2view this morning I will flip from Gladstone to Berrybank because a reader’s alerted me to the ABC media article ‘Wind turbine collapse in Victoria’s west prompts calls for safety audit’ that was published earlier this morning:

2025-02-05-ABC-Berrybank-Towers

The article notes:

‘The government said a section of the wind turbine detached in the early hours of Tuesday morning, after parts of the state were battered by thunderstorms and damaging winds.

The Bureau of Meteorology measured wind gusts of up to 60kph at Berrybank on Monday night, and 70kph the night before.’

… and …

‘An exclusion zone was set up around the turbine and Global Power Generation Australia stopped all generation.

Naturgy, the Spanish company which operates Berrybank Wind Farm, said the site had been temporarily shut down as it worked to ensure the safety of its personnel.’

 

 

Information from ez2view

So inside of ez2view here is Berrybank 1 Wind Farm:

2025-02-05-at-09-05-ez2view-Bidsoffers-Berrybank1

We see that:

1)  Last output and availability was in the 07:15 dispatch interval (NEM time) on Tuesday 4th February 2025;

2)  A rebid was submitted (received at the AEMo at 08:12) which:

(a)  Reset the MaxAvail in the bid from the 08:20 dispatch interval

(b)  But no useful information was provided in the rebid reason

3)  And, despite the successes of the ERM Rule Change, the (in my view!) short-sightedness of that rule change in excluding Semi-Scheduled assets from that greater visibility means we are none the wiser in terms of what the initial expectations are for how long the wind farm will be out (and/or on reduced capacity).

 

Inside ez2view here is Berrybank 2 Wind Farm and this provides an a very similar picture:

2025-02-05-at-09-05-ez2view-Bidsoffers-Berrybank2

In this case:

1)  We see:

(a)  Availability (and hence Target) was non-zero until 07:00

(b)  Actual Output non-zero until 06:55

(c)  PASA Avail non-zero until 11:15

2)  In this case, the rebid was not until later (11:11):

(a)  But changed more things – not just MaxAvail, but also PASA Avail and Volume in Price Bands

(b)  But also no detail in the rebid reason.

3)  And likewise the AEMC has not allowed for greater visibility of Semi-Scheduled assets in MT PASA DUID Availability.

 

 

Other reporting and information

At the time we hit publish this morning, we also see:

1)  On RenewEconomy, Giles Parkinson was quick to the draw with the article ‘Victoria wind farm shut down after turbine collapse’ yesterday sometime.

2)  This morning, Sophia Baker updater her article ‘Wind farm project ‘temporarily paused’ as company investigates turbine collapse’ in the Standard (but I can’t access that)

3)  There’s also an article ‘Wind farm turbine collapse sparks call for Victorian safety audit’ in the Herald Sun (but I can’t access either)

About the Author

Paul McArdle
Paul was one of the founders of Global-Roam in February 2000. He is currently the CEO of the company and the principal author of WattClarity. Writing for WattClarity has become a natural extension of his work in understanding the electricity market, enabling him to lead the team in developing better software for clients. Before co-founding the company, Paul worked as a Mechanical Engineer for the Queensland Electricity Commission in the early 1990s. He also gained international experience in Japan, the United States, Canada, the UK, and Argentina as part of his ES Cornwall Memorial Scholarship.

Be the first to comment on "Berrybank 1 and Berrybank 2 Wind Farms offline since Tuesday morning 4th February following wind turbine collapse"

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*