There was a fire in the nacelle of one of the turbines at the Bulgana wind farm (part of the ‘Bulgana Green Power Hub” that also includes a 20MW/34MWh BESS) in Victoria, back on the 28th May 2025.
A CFA news report was referenced in the Renew Economy article at the time.
The wind farm comprises 56 turbines at a unit size of 3.65 MW each. Max capacity is 204 MW.
Curious to ascertain how turbine availability has been, we use the ELAV dataset to better understand the count of elements available (turbines in the case of a wind farm) at Bulgana in recent months.
As part of an energy market initiative to improve transparency on intermittent generator outages the Elements Available (ELAV) has been published by AEMO since August 2024.
The time series below, 1 January 2025 to-date, captures the elements available at each dispatch interval:
- Since 2025, the peak number of elements available has been 53 (in May).
- The May 28 outage is evident. The site was shut down, elements available was zero.
- A gradual return to service started on June 8 for 2 days. Further gains were made over the remainder of the month of June.
- Typical levels in 2025, we might say, are above 45 elements available. Following the May 28 outage, that level of elements available was first surpassed on the 27th June – roughly a month after the incident.
- In August 2025 the elements available has fluctuated around 40-45.
- Its important to note that unavailability doesn’t necessarily mean inoperable. Elements available is used to estimate the generator’s unconstrained availability for dispatch by AWEFS.
Key events (to date)
Seeking a brief recap of key events at the site, to-date, we’ve collated this reverse chronological list related to Bulgana Wind Farm. We may add more at a later date if time permits.
| Date | Description of Event |
| August 2025 | On 4th August HMC Capital announced the financial close of the acquisition of Neoen Australia’s Victorian assets which includes Bulgana Wind Farm. The announcement was made in an ASX statement.
The statement included reference to impacts of the fire that happened in May: “At financial close, 51 of 56 wind turbines at the Bulgana Wind Farm were operational, with the majority of the remaining turbines scheduled to be returned to service within the next two months” Renrew Economy also reported on the completion of the acquisition. Watt Clarity included a recap of media attention covering the acquisition in Catching up, after ~5 weeks away … what (else) did I miss? |
| July 2025 | A HMC Capital ASX release reports that the financial close to the acquisition of Neoen’s Victorian assets will be a month later than originally agreed. |
| May 2025 | A fire broke out in a nacelle of a turbine and one turbine blade fell to the ground. Reported on Renew Economy. |
| December 2024 | The transaction between Neoen and HMC Capital for Neoen’s Victorian assets is announced by Neoen and by HMC Capital. |
| October 2024 | The battery gen and load units transitioned to a single bidirectional unit on October 2. |
| December 2021 | Full commercial operation announced. |
| July 2021 | The battery storage unit’s Gen and Load sides first appear in dispatch. |
| May 2020 | Wind farm unit first appears in dispatch. |
| February 2020 | 19 February, Neoen sought “liquidated damages” due to ongoing connection delays for the project, RenewEconomy reports. [Watt Clarity] |
| March 2018 | 21 March, Neoen CEO Franck Woitiez told RenewEconomy that construction had begun. [Watt Clarity] |
| December 2017 | Neoen purchased the project in late 2017. In December 2017, the Victorian Government signed a 15-year support agreement with Neoen Australia to deliver the Bulgana Green Power Hub. |
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