Hornsea One Ltd has agreed to pay out GBP 4.5 million to Ofgem for not remaining connected after the lightning strike in August 2019.
To remind, the Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm suffered a reduction in the energy supply on 9 August due to a lightning strike .
The 1.2GW wind farm immediately de-loaded from 799MW to 62MW and lost modules 2 and 3, totaling 737MW.
Ofgem’s investigation into the power cuts found that the combined loss of Hornsea One and RWE’s Little Barford gas power station, as well as the smaller loss of generation at a local level, triggered the subsequent disconnection, loss of power and disruption to more than one million consumers.
The investigation raised questions about how the National Grid Electricity System Operator’s (ESO) management of the system is carried out, thus Ofgem will be conducting a review into the structure and governance of ESO.
“Consumers and businesses rely on generators and network companies to provide a secure and stable power supply. August 9th showed how much disruption and distress is caused to consumers across the UK when this does not happen. That is why it is right that companies that were unable to keep generating have paid into our consumer redress fund,” said Jonathan Brearley , Executive Director.
“Our investigation has raised important questions about National Grid’s Electricity System Operator, which is why our review will look at the structure and governance of the company.”
Hornsea Project One will comprise 174 Siemens Gamesa 7MW turbines installed some 120km off Yorkshire. The 1.2GW project will become the world’s largest offshore wind farm once commissioned this year.