Grass fire shuts down Beryl Solar Farm near Gulgong

What happened

A grass fire led to the shutdown of Beryl Solar Farm, about 5 km west of Gulgong in New South Wales. Crews from the NSW Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW worked to extinguish a fire burning under the solar modules on a Monday. Firefighters said access was difficult because the fire was under the panels, and that a large column of smoke could be visible from Gulgong.

The solar farm supplies power to the Sydney Metro Northwest rail link. A site spokesperson said all plant personnel were safe and accounted for, there were no injuries, and the site had been secured. The extent of damage and how long the shutdown lasted were not reported.

Contributing factors

The source does not state how the grass fire started. Firefighters reported that the fire burning under the modules made access difficult.

Lessons learned

1. Plan emergency access so crews can reach vegetation fires under and between solar arrays.
2. Share site layout and electrical hazards with local fire services before an incident.
3. Keep vegetation fuel loads managed around modules so a grass fire is less likely to run under the array.

More lessons on emergency response and public communication, fire suppression and firefighting, maintenance, inspection and ageing assets, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Cause of the fire
• Downtime and lost output
• Cost of damage and repairs

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

esdnews.com.au