Boulder business ready to withstand power outages with restored mint generator up-and-running

Boulder business Mangelsdorf Engineering has successfully installed and commissioned an old Boulder Mint generator so it can carry on if power outages continue to hit the Goldfields. Downed transmission towers in the Wheatbelt saw Kalgoorlie-Boulder experience a catastrophic multi-day power outage in January, and another electricity failure in May prompted Mangelsdorf Engineering to take action. The business had already been preparing a refurbished 100kVA Cummins generator as an alternative power supply for the workshop which employs 14 staff. This week the company said the 34-year-old generating set was ready for the coming summer, noting official estimates are that WA will be short of at least 140MW of power during this time. Managers Tristan Barnard and Mick Douglas said they were ready for the inevitable outages. “We are supporters of a Generation 4 (low water use) nuclear power reactor but the installation of a 300MW reactor in Collie will be of little value to our business as Boulder is at the end of a 655km power line dependent on many factors,” they said. ”Power lines going down anywhere between Boulder and Collie deprive our business of power. “This district uses an estimated 180MW of transmitted power to service our community and several mine sites, including the Lynas facility in west Kalgoorlie. “But typical Goldfields ingenuity utilising the services of Lyndon Greenhill enables the set to service both of our workshops.” Mr Barnard added: “Apart from candles we think this is the best alternative.“