In December 2015, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported that gusts above 200 km/h had torn roofs from the idle Kurnell desalination plant in Sydney. According to its chief executive Keith Davies, a control room and several roofs were hit, with insurance expected to pay. Greens MP John Kaye called for permanent closure; the state's water minister Niall Blair refused, citing binding contracts. Idle since 2012 and leased privately for 50 years, the plant would only restart if dams fell below 70 %; they were at 94 %.
The report showed how contested an expensive standby desalination plant was while reservoirs stayed full, and how long-term contracts made a shutdown difficult.