July 29, 2020
Australia

Output gone with wind; Turbine farm in enforced holding pattern

Chris Calcino | The Cairns Post | 29 Jul 2020 |

Energy output has flatlined at Queens land’s biggest wind farm with no electricity sent to the grid for more than a week straight.

The Mount Emerald Wind Farm has not produced a kilowatt of power since Monday last week – and it was a similar story earlier in the month.

Wind energy data show the re new able power station also had an eight-day production hiatus from July 6-14, not caused by a lack of breeze.

The company behind the 53-turbine wind farm just west of Walkamin has assured residents the Mount Emerald Wind Farm is not the only power producer facing issues.

“Under certain circumstances the Australian Energy Market Operator can direct individual facilities not to generate power,” a spokesman for Ratch Australia said.

“This can be due to maintenance or other issues on the transmission network.

“Other power plants in the area are also affected, but this is much less visible.”

The spokesman said the farm was in fine working order and was ready to get back to work in due course.

“There are no problems with the turbines at Mount Emerald Wind Farm and we look for ward to resuming generation of safe, clean, reliable electricity as soon we are permitted to do so,” he said.

Each of the power plant’s 53 turbines stands at more than 140m tall with a combined energy production capacity of 180.5 megawatts.

The facility has been built at a $360m cost and still stands as the biggest wind farm in the state, although a succession of newer projects down south are snapping at its heels.

Construction has not yet started on Genex’s 150-megawatt Kidston Wind Project in the Etheridge Shire, although land has been secured.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2020/07/29/output-gone-with-wind-turbine-farm-in-enforced-holding-pattern/