State safety authority shuts five solar farms due to fire risk, tells them to mow grass

Five solar farms in Victoria have been shut down until their owner Sungrow mows the grass, as the regulator worries over bushfire risk. 

Energy Safe Victoria ordered the clutch of tiny solar farms, owned by subsidiaries of Sungrow Power Australia, to stop operating after the regulator did a two week inspection blitz in February.

The solar farms are the 5 megawatt (MW) Goornong and 5MW Moolort both near Bendigo, the 5MW Ledcourt near the northern Grampians, 5MW Stawell, and the 20MW Raywood solar farm which is also near Bendigo and where a fire broke out during the inspection period.  

That fire broke out inside a Sungrow inverter and spread a short way into the long grass under the panels, the authority said at the time. 

The authority told all five solar farms to stop operation on 22 February, two days after the Raywood fire. 

“At the beginning of summer last year, we wrote to the operators of all solar farms in Victoria to ensure they were actively managing safety risks during the fire danger period,” Energy Safe CEO Leanne Hughson said.

“That includes managing vegetation on the sites to minimise the risk of a fire spreading in the unlikely event that one starts in equipment.

“Solar farm owners and operators have a legal duty to minimise bushfire risks and if they don’t, we will take action to protect people and property.”

Energy Safe inspectors looked at 18 solar farms in Shepparton, Bendigo, Kerang and Mildura, looking for long grass, unmanaged fire breaks and other overgrown vegetation.

Sungrow and Energy Safe have been contacted for a response to the closures. 

Permit rules usually specify that grass must be buzzed to a regulation 100mm or less, a minimum 10m fire break setback from the perimeter which are cleared of any vegetation and include a 4m wide access road, two or more access points into the site, and at least 6m between rows of solar panels. 

Fires at solar farms are rare, however. 

In mid-January, 2024, a fire broke out at the Mannum 2, owned by Epic Energy, in South Australia’s Riverland region.

That project was being commissioned and a subcontractor suffered burns. The damage bill for that fire is estimated to be around $250,000.

And in January this year regional newspapers reported allegations of a fire in the newly operating 353MW Walla Walla solar farm in New South Wales’ Riverina region.

Walla Walla owner FRV has been contacted for comment.

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