Initial report on battery fire near Rockhampton

The Bouldercombe battery project will be commissioned in a matter of weeks albeit at a reduced rate of storage. One of the megapack units on the facility located near Rockhampton caught fire on the morning of 26 September at around 7:30. No-one was on site at the time of the incident. Main image: Bouldercombe battery facility On advice from Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and established protocols the low intensity fire was allowed to burn out with no water required to be used on the fire itself. Related: Genex Power probes cause of battery fire The failure has been isolated to the power electronics interface with the AC bus bar in the individual Megapack unit itself and not the broader installation of Megapack units said operator Genex. Bouldercombe Battery Project with Tesla megapack units “In order to mitigate against a further event, Tesla will be undertaking replacement of two identified power electronics units and out of caution, physical inspection of the power electronics within the remainder of units at the project site,” the company said. “Genex will also be implementing upgrades to breaker control setting response times to further mitigate against a potential future event.” The affected megapack was transported to a testing facility in Melbourne to complete further root cause analysis (RCA) by way of physical inspection. Related: Tesla Megapacks on site for Genex’s big battery project The preliminary RCA indicates that a fault occurred on the AC side of the Megapack unit said Genex. “The fault then propagated to the battery modules within the Megapack.” “The burn of the Megapack followed design and certification testing expectations under UL9540A, with no external water required, and no propagation of the active fire to adjacent Megapack units or balance of plant.” Genex re-energised the site and subsequently completed a charge of 5MW for approximately 1 hour across 36 Megapack units on 28 September 2023. Power up Genex and its contractors are now preparing the site for re- energisation to complete the final commissioning tests and to commence operations. “Following further diagnostic analysis, Tesla has advised that the Megapack unit adjacent to the impacted Megapack has suffered some minor thermal damage to its electrical insulation. “Out of caution, the final tests and operations will therefore recommence utilising 38 of the 40 Megapack units. “This final commissioning is expected to be completed and operations to commence by mid-November 2023. Tesla will provide 2 replacement Megapack units which have been shipped and are expected to arrive and complete installation and final testing in early December 2023. The RCA analysis and Megapack replacement is being undertaken at Tesla’s full cost.

Initial report on battery fire near Rockhampton

Industry Queensland

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