Wind farms in Tasmania: a page of Wind in the Bush
Wind in the Bush aims to be the
most informative, comprehensive, and up-to-date pages on Australian wind
power and wind farms.
The author is not beholden to any company, lobby group, or government.
*
This page created 2008/03/08, modified 2013/06/16
Information about wind farms that I have missed, additional interesting
information,
or corrections for
anything that I have got wrong, would be greatly appreciated.
About these pages –
Google search Ramblings
Contact: email daveclarkecb@yahoo.com
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Introduction
Specific wind farms...
Bluff Point |
Cattle Hill |
Flinders Island |
Huxley Hill |
Low Head Wind Farm |
Musselroe |
Nichols Poultry |
Studland Bay |
TasWind |
White Rock |
Woolnorth
Other proposed wind farms
Index
(Off this page: Wind farm locations on
Google Maps)
Using this page: some hints
This and most other pages of 'Wind in the Bush' are set out like reference
books.
There is a contents list at the top of each page
and at least one index at the bottom of the page.
Use these to find the subject you want, or use CTRL F to find words or
phrases that interest you.
There is also a search box near the top of the
Wind Home page.
All the main pages of 'Wind in the Bush' are listed at the top left of the
Wind Home page and each of the states' pages.
Climate change
is the greatest threat facing the world today;
wind generated electricity is one of a number of ways that we can
reduce our reliance on fossil fuel-generated electricity and therefore
reduce our greenhouse gas production and limit climate change.
Wind farm
colour coding
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| Proposed
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| Development applic. lodged
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| Approved
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| Under construction
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| Operating
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Tasmania has special advantages for wind power development.
Stretching from south Latitude 43.7 degrees, in the south, to
Latitude 40.7 degrees in the north, it is entirely within the 'Roaring 40s';
a belt of some of the most reliable winds on Earth.
Tasmania generates a high percentage of its power from hydro.
This is an ideal accompanyment to wind: when the wind stops blowing the
hydro power can be switched on; when the wind blows the hydro can be
switched off and the water conserved.
While Tasmania has special advantages for wind power, in terms of
powering Australia it also has one special disavantage - Bass Strait.
There is a power cable beneath the Strait, the
Basslink
Interconector, but there is still the distance disadvantage.
Basslink is the world's longest subsea electricity cable.
The low number of proposed wind farms in Tasmania is puzzling, but it
seems probable that the island is unatractive to wind farmers because of
its relative isolation from the big electricity markets of the 'northern
island'.
I will be pleased to hear from any reader who believes that anything in any
of these pages is incorrect or substantially incomplete.
Please send details, with appropriate references, to the email address
above.
Any suggestions on how these pages can be more informative will also be
appreciated.
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| Location of Cattle Hill Wind Farm
From The Mercury
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News 2013/05/09
Clean Technica reported that Denham Capital Management had invested in several
Australian wind farms, including this one.
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This project has been proposed by US power company National Power
(who seem to
not be making any information available on the Internet).
National Power's Sydney office is at Level 16, 60 Carrington St. Sydney
2000; phone 02 9279 0755.
NP's email address for inquiries is info@nppartners.com.
It was expected that the wind farm would be spread over 4000ha on the
eastern side of Lake Echo, would have
turbines that would reach 125m high, and yet would be visible from only
two local homes.
Most of the above information came from an article by Phillippa Duncan of
The (Tasmanian) Mercury, April 4th 2010.
Cattle Hill Wind Farm summary data
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW
| Construction | Lat | Long
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|---|
| Development application lodged | 100? | 3? | 240?
| 2013? | S 42.16° | E 146.68°
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It was reported in
The Mercury on 2011/12/04 that this project has been
approved by the EPA.
ABC On-line News reported on 2012/01/30 that approval had been given by the
Central
Highlands Council; approval was still required from the Federal Government.
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Third turbine
Robert Nichols of Nichols Poultry and a business called Blowing in the Wind
has apparently installed an Enercon E30, 300kW turbine.
More can be read about this at
Think Tasmania.
The third turbine was installed about May 2012.
(Also see ABC)
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I received the following in an email from Peter Kempster (who lives on King
Island and manages the wind farm/power station there) on 2009/03/03:
"Yes there are two wind turbines on Flinders Island.
1 x 55 kW unit installed in 88 and 1 x 25 kW unit installed in 96.
These units are not owned by Hydro Tasmania, they are privately owned and
Hydro Tasmania purchase's all the power they produce."
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Photo acknowledgement: Peter Kempster
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ABC on-line news, November 21, 2007 reported...
Hydro Tasmania has secured all the approvals it needs to build up to four
wind turbines on Flinders Island.
The turbines would produce between 0.9 and 3.4 megawatts of power and cut
the the island's reliance on diesel by 30 per cent or about 350,000 litres
annually.
The Leader of Government Business in the Legislative Council, Doug
Parkinson, says Hydro's plans are progressing well.
"Hydro Tasmania has secured the development approval
for up to four wind turbines on Flinders Island," he said.
"Once wind turbine supply has been secured, the business case will be
progressed for consideration by Hydro Tasmania's board."
As of December 2008 I have not been able to find information about this
wind farm on Hydro Tasmania's Net site.
A page by
RISE,
Research Institute for Sustainable Energy, also mentioned some wind power
installed on Flinders Island in 1988 and a second stage in 1996.
I emailed Hydro Tasmania (webmaster@hydro.com.au) on 19th Dec. 2008
requesting more information; had not received a reply by 2009/03/19.
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Also known as the King Island Wind Farm
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Australia's biggest wind farm on King Island?
A major wind farm of about 600MW has also been proposed for King Island,
it is to be called
TasWind Wind Farm.
Proposed expansion of existing wind farm
Reneweconomy, 2012/11/28, mentioned
that Hydro Tasmania is planning "a $46m prototype off-grid power plant
that combines solar panels, wind turbines (an additional 6MW), biodiesel
and energy storage technology.
(Also see King
Island Renewable energy.)
This project aims to provide 65 per cent of King Island's energy needs from
renewable sources by 2013 (100 per cent on windy days) and to cut its energy
costs by $4.5 million a year."
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The farm started generating in 1998 and has since been expanded.
Its total generating capacity is 2.5MW of electricity and it is now
owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
In interesting feature of Huxley Hill is that it includes a 'vanadium
redox flow battery' (see
Wikipedia); this is capable of storing up to 800kWh of surplus energy
and releasing it as required.
This was insalled during stage 2.
I thank Peter Kempster, who lives on King Island, for some of the above
information.
Huxley Hill Wind Farm is located at South Latitude 39.93° and
East Longitude 143.87°
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Huxley Hill Wind Farm summary data
Stage 1
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW
| Commissioned
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|---|
| Operating | 3 | 0.25 | 0.75 | ?
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| Turbine | Nordex N29
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| Tower height | 29m
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| Rated wind speed | Approx. 50km/hr
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| Rotor diameter | 29.7m
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Stage 2
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW
| Commissioned
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| Operating | 2 | 0.85 | 1.7 | 2003
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| Turbine | Vestas V52
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| Tower height | 60m
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| Rated wind speed | Approx. 50km/hr
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| Rotor diameter | 52m
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This section written 2012/12/01
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This wind farm has been proposed by Low Head Wind Farm Pty Ltd, who have a
Net site about the project.
If built, it will be about 7km NE of Georgetown and a similar distance east
of the mouth of the Tamar inlet.
The proponents are "now engaging local land owners and other stakeholders to
discuss key aspects of the project and better understand any perceived
concerns or risks" (2012/12/16).
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Summary data, Low Head Wind Farm
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW
| Construction date | Lat. | Long.
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|---|
| Proposed | 9 to 12 | 3? | About 30
| Undecided | Approx. S 41.05° | E 146.88°
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This was originally a
Roaring 40s
project, but was taken over by Hydro Tasmania following the break up of
Roaring 40s.
It is in the NE extremity of Tasmania, about 20km NE of Gladstone and
about 100km NE of Launceston, was proposed around 2004 only to be shelved in
2006.
Then it was on-again-off-again, largely because of changes in the Federal
Government's renewable energy legislation, until in December 2011 Hydro
Tasmania (ABC On-line News) stated that construction would begin 'this month'.
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News
2013/06/11
Quoting the Hydro Tasmania Net site:
"All of the 56 turbine are now fully assembled.
The control building, the transmission line and switchyard are also complete
and the wind farm is connected to the Tasmanian electricity system.
Activity is now focused on a program of testing and commissioning, to ensure
all the components are functioning correctly before any generation to the
grid.
Full operation is on track for July 2013."
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The project includes a new transmission line to connect the wind farm
into the Tasmanian network at Derby, about 40km to the South-West.
On 2012/04/18 Deputy Premier Bryan Green produced a media release that
included:
"... more than 200 people will be directly employed on the project during
the 18-month construction stage.
Tasmanian company Hazell Brothers is the main civil contractor with the
towers for the turbines being fabricated by Haywards in Launceston.
... the foundations for the turbines were expected to be poured this month.
By July the control building is expected to be constructed and the tower
sections will be delivered to the site later this year.
The transmission line and substation are scheduled to be completed by
February with the turbines also arriving from Europe early next year.
All the turbines are expected to be generating power into the grid by June
next year.
This is building on our standing as Australia's renewable energy powerhouse."
(Tasmania has a far higher percentage of renewably generated electricity
than any other Australian state.)
Ecogeneration News carried an article on 2012/03/09 about an agreement
between Hydro Tasmania and Chinese company Shenhua Clean Energy Holding
for providing $400m funding for the project.
Musselroe Wind Farm summary data
| Status | # Turbines | Manufacturer | Model | MW each | Total MW
| Expected completion | Lat. | Long.
|
|---|
| Under construction
| 56 | Vestas | V90 | 3 | 168
| July 2013 | S 40.90° | E 148.15°
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The turbines are Vestas V90
Further data on Musselroe Wind Farm
| Project cost | $400 million
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|---|
| Expected greenhouse gas saving | 300 000 tonnes
CO2 p.a.
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| Expected generation | 500GWh per year
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| Proportion of Tasmania's energy demand | 5%
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Nichols Poultry has a wind
turbine near the intersection
of Chapel Road and Valley Field Road, Sassafras.
Nichols Poultry wind turbine summary data
| Status | # Turbines | kW
| Commissioned | Lat. | Long.
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|---|
| Operating | 1 | 225
| 2008 | S 41.257° | E 146.513°
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The turbine is a Vestas V27
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Hydro Tasmania has a
Net site devoted to this proposal,
there is a
Facebook page
devoted to the proposal and I have created a
page aimed at countering some misinformation
that has been published on the project.
On 2013/05/13 the King Island Courier announced that KI's biggest employer,
Lion Nathan, were urging King Islanders to say yes to the wind farm
proposal going to the next stage (a detailed study of the feasibility of
the wind farm).
Lion owns King Island Dairy and employs about 100 people (of a total KI
population or around 1600).
Also in that issue of the KIC it was reported that the same public relations
firm that has worked for the infamous Church of Scientology, Exclusive
Brethren and James Hardy (asbestos), has been engaged by those
opposed to the project to 'amuse then scare' the local people.
It seems that substantial funding for this may be coming from a particular
very wealthy opponent who is opposed to the project because "it may spoil the
view from his newly acquired property".
Summary data, TasWind Wind Farm
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW
| Construction date | Lat. | Long.
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|---|
| Proposed | 200 | 3 | 600
| Around 2017 | Approx. S 39.92° | E 143.99°
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It is hoped that the wind farm will be operating in 2019
King Island is ideally placed for a large wind farm.
It is in the notoriously windy Bass Strait and close to Melbourne, which will
provide a market for the electricity.
Understanably, particularly considering the amount of
disinformation being
spread by wind farm opponents, there is a great deal of concern about the
proposal among the residents of the island.
The Garnaut report
showed that Australia's CO2 emissions were 28 tonnes per person
in 2006, so the TasWind project will abate the carbon dioxide emissions of
some 70 000 Australians.
The King Island people have the unenviable responsibility of deciding
the correct course of action both for themselves and for the world.
If the wind farm is built it will probably be the biggest in Australia (and
the Southern Hemesphere – and depending on whether the similarly
sized Ceres Project goes
ahead); in November 2012, Victoria's
Macarthur Wind Farm, at
420MW installed, held that distinction.
Additional data on TasWind Wind Farm
| Owner/operator | Hydro Tasmania
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|---|
| Project cost | Aus$2 000 million
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| Annual generation | About 1800GWh
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| Annual abatement | About two million tonnes
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The actual
abatement would depend on the
proportion of electricity from
gas or coal-fired power stations that would be replaced by the TasWind project
Hydro Tasmania list the economic benefits of the project on a
Net page.
Also known as Robbins Island Wind Farm
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The Hammond family and Eureka Funds Management is planning to construct a
wind farm located mostly on Robbins Island in north-west Tasmania.
Robbins Island is an uninhabited island off the north-west tip off Tasmania
about 25 kilometres north-west of Smithton.
Company: Eureka Funds Management
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Summary data, White Rock Wind Farm
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW
| Construction date | Lat. | Long.
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|---|
| Dev. Application lodged | 220 | 2 | 440
| 2015/16? | Approx. S 40.69° | E 144.94°
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Including Bluff Point and Studland Bay wind farms
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This wind farm is located near Cape Grim in the northwest corner of Tasmania.
It was developed, owned and operated for several years by
Hyrdo Tasmania.
Three stages of this wind farm have been completed
giving a total of 140MW installed capacity.
On 2011/12/22 the Wall Street Journal published online the following "Guohua,
a unit of China's state-owned coal giant Shenhua Group, is acquiring interests
in the 65-megawatt Bluff Point and 75-megawatt Studland Bay wind farms."
Hydro Tasmania needs the procedes of this deal to finance the
Musselroe Wind Farm.
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Woolnorth Wind Farm summary data
Stage 1 (Bluff Point)
| Status | # Turbines | Manufacturer | Model | MW each | Total MW
| Commissioned | Lat. | Long.
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|---|
| Operating | 6 | Vestas | V66 | 1.75 | 10.5
| August 2002 | Approx. S 40.72° | E 144.73°
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Stage 2 (Bluff Point)
| Status | # Turbines | Manufacturer | Model | MW each | Total MW
| Commissioned | Lat. | Long.
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|---|
| Operating | 31 | Vestas | V66 | 1.75 | 54
| April 2004 | S ?° | E ?°
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Stage 3 (Studland Bay)
| Status | # Turbines | Manufacturer | Model | MW each | Total MW
| Commissioned | Lat. | Long.
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|---|
| Operating | 25 | Vestas | V90 | 3 | 75
| 2007 | S ?° | E ?°
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All stages combined (Woolnorth)
| Status | # Turbines | Total MW | Capacity factor
| Commissioned
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|---|
| Operating | 62 | 140 | 39% | 2007
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The capacity factor above was calculated from AEMO data for March
2009 to December 2012 data (inclusive) downloaded via Andrew
Miskelly's '.csv' format download facility.
It is one of the highest for any Australian wind farm.
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| | Up to end 2012
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Generation record for Woolnorth
The graph on the right shows the power generation record for Woolnorth
Wind Farm as recorded by AEMO (Australian Energy Market Operator) and
downloaded via the ALG (Australian Landscape Guardians) Net site.
The units are average megawatts generated month by month.
Further data on Woolnorth Wind Farm...
| Turbines
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|---|
| Productive wind speeds | Stages 1 & 2: from 4.2 to 25m/sec
(15 to 90km/hr)
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| Peak efficiency wind speed | Stages 1 & 2: from 15 to 25 m/sec
(55 to 90km/hr)
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| Wind generators | Stages 1 & 2: Vestas 1.75MW
Stage 3: Vestas V90 3MW
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| Tower height | Stages 1 & 2: 60m
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| Rotor diameter | Stages 1 & 2: 66m
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| Total weight of turbine and tower | Stages 1 & 2: 180 tonnes
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ABC on-line news Sept. 21, 2007 stated that ten wedge tailed eagles had
been killed by Woolnorth turbines since it began operating in 2003.
Doctor Cindy Hull has
studied bird
deaths at the Woolnorth wind farms for some years.
It seems from her work that eagle deaths have decreased substantially since
around 2007.
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In addition to the wind farms detailed above at least one other has been
proposed (table below).
If and when this proposed wind farm looks likely to be built,
and as I get more information, I will write it up in more detail.
If any readers have information concerning this or others I would appreciate
a note, my email address is at the top of this page.
Until a wind farm gets at least to the point where an application for
approval has been submitted to the relevant authority it may be little
more than wishfull thinking and is not worth covering in more detail than
that below.
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Wind farms that have been proposed in Tasmania
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| Project name | Area | Sponsoring Company | Capacity, MW | Status
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| Tamar Valley
| Site of Gunns pulp mill | Tamar Valley Renewables | ? | Suggested
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For links to developers see
Wind farm businesses
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Index
