<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/ultimate-test-new-zealand-solar-farm-powers-through-major-flood-event/>
"A New Zealand solar farm has powered almost all the way through a major flood
event, passing what the developers have described as “the ultimate test” of the
project’s design and technology.
Lodestone Energy says its 42 megawatt (MW) Te Herenga o Te Rā solar farm in the
North Island’s Bay of Plenty region was last week caught up in an extreme
rainfall event described by meteorologists as an “atmospheric river.”
In a post on LinkedIn on Monday, Lodestone says the solar farm, which achieved
first generation in December 2024, “remained fully operational until the last
few millimetres of rain … when the operations team decided, out of caution, to
disconnect from the grid and ride out the storm.”
“When the sun rose again, the water receded nearly as quickly as it came. The
Lodestone team were able to quickly assess the site with thermal-camera drones,
scanning each component and determining just how well the tracking solar
technology and flood-mitigation design met the challenge,” the post says.
“The team discovered that the flood waters rose to levels designed for and the
farm performed as the engineering team had expected – the farm fared well!
“After a big effort from the #NewPower and #Lodestone crew, who have been
working hard over the weekend to complete inspections and testing, we’ve been
able to recommence generation. We are once again harvesting the sunshine of
Waiotahe Valley.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
