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Victorian wind farms
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Contents of this page...Specific wind farms... Ararat | Bald Hills | Berrimal | Berrybank Wind Farm | Cape Bridgewater | Cape Nelson | Cape Sir William Grant | Challicum Hills | Chepstowe Wind Farm | Codrington | Crowlands | Yarram | Devon North | Drysdale | Hawkesdale | Lal Lal | Leonard's Hill | Lexton | Macarthur | Moorabool | Mortlake | Mortons Lane | Mount Gellibrand | Mount Mercer | Naroghid Wind Farm | Oaklands Hill | Portland | Pykes Hill | Ryan Corner | Salt Creek | Sidonia Hills | Sisters | Stockyard Hill | Toora | Waubra | Waubra North | Wonthaggi | Yaloak | Yambuk Other proposed wind farms Index TablesInstalled wind power in Victoria | Wind farms by region | Colour coding for wind farm status | Other proposed wind farmsGraphsOperating Victorian wind farms | Example wind power generation graphMapsWind resource map of Victoria | Ararat Wind Farm | Lexton Wind Farm | Stockyard Hill Wind Farm | Waubra Wind Farm |
IntroductionClimate 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.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. Wikipedia gives some information on proposed and operating wind farms in Victorian. |
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Victoria has some of the best wind resources of Australia. The policies of the Howard Government stopped these resources from being developed (none of the wind farms built before 2008 was large, and the total installed capacity in February 2008 was around 130MW.
Under the Rudd Government the situation has not much improved; the large
Waubra Wind Farm has been built (192MW)
and the total installed capacity has increased to 428MW, but as I write
(December 2009) there is no wind farm construction happening in Victoria.
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| Installed wind power in Victoria - by wind farm As of December 2009 | |||
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| Wind farm | MW | Commissioned | |
| Challicum Hills | 52.5 | 2003 | |
| Codrington | 18.2 | June 2001 | |
| Portland | Cape Bridgewater | 58.0 | Nov. 2008 |
| Cape Nelson South | 44.0 | Mid 2009 | |
| Yambuk | 30.0 | May 2007 | |
| Toora | 21.0 | 2002 | |
| Waubra | 192.0 | Oct. 2009 | |
| Wonthaggi | 12.0 | Dec. 2005 | |
| Total | 427.7 | ||
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Operating Victorian wind farms, megawatts As of December 2009 |
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Note that the wind farms listed here as proposed or approved will not
necessarily ever be built.
You can't be sure that anything is going to be built until it starts
happening.
Note: Latitudes and Longitudes are given below in decimal degrees. They are given to two decimal places because this defines the location to ±1km; a wind farm is a large thing and typically covers a number of kilometres. |
Wind farms by region
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Ararat Wind Farm
Proposed by RES Australia, this wind farm is close to one proposed by Pacific Hydro at Crowlands.
RES has a not very informative
page on the proposal; although a newsletter available from this page
is moderately informative.
The Victorian Minister for Planning determined on 14th January 2008 that an Environmental Effects Statement is not required. RES has announced its intention to prepare a Planning Permit Application. |
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The sight of this proposed wind farm is near Tarwin Lower, 20 kilometres west of Wilsons Promontory and 150km SE of Melbourne.
This is the wind farm that became famous for being at first blocked by Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell because of a alleged threat to the endangered orange bellied parrot, and then OKed when it became apparent that the proposed wind farm posed no threat to the parrot.
The proposer is Wind Power who are now fully owned by Origin Energy. It was announced on 10th June 2008 that the Japanese company Mitsui had acquired the project through its Australian subsidiary. Mitsui said that the project should be in commercial operation in 2011.
ABC On-line news carried an article on 2010/04/27 stating that Tarwin
Valley Coastal Guardians was to contest Minister Madden's approval of
a proposed increase in the total hight of the turbines to 135m.
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Project cost | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | 52 | 2 | 104 | 2010 | Estimated Aus$250 million | Approx. S 38.86° | E 146.00° |
| Turbine height | Increased from 110m to 135m overall; contested |
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| Closest (non-project) residence | 944m from nearest turbine |
| Closest turbine to Wetland Reserve | App. 300m |
| Closest turbine to Cape Liptrap Coastal Park | 450m |
| Closest turbine to coast in vicinity of Cape Liptrap Park | 2000m |
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Acciona Energy has proposed this wind farm 70km NW of Bendigo between St
Arnaud and Wedderburn.
Much of the data below was from Dept. Primary Industry, Victoria. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | 12-16 | ? | Max. 24 | Undecided | Approx. S 36.53° | E 143.46° |
| On Feb. 17th 2009 Brett Thomas, a representative of Acciona, said that "the project is on hold while the Federal Government prepares its emissions trading and renewable energy policies". My information is that the status of this wind farm, as of 2009/06/04, is 'on hold'. |
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Berrybank Wind FarmThis large wind farm is proposed by Union Fenosa Wind Australia (UFWA) who have a Net page on the project and have produced several newsletters. As of November 2008 UFWA was "working with local stakeholders to develop the planning application".Berrybank is about 15km east of Lismore, ten kilometres west of Cressy and 40km north of Colac; the wind farm will be close on the eastern side of Berrybank.
The construction date are from AEMO (2010/04/09). |
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| This wind farm is located on a north-south trending line of hills west of Ararat, 190km WNW of Melbourne, in western Victoria. For an interactive map and/or directions to Challicum Hills go to ExplorOz. |
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This photo was taken from Boroka lookout, which is about 62km from the turbines. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Annual production | Commissioned | Capacity factor | Lat. | Long. |
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| Operating | 35 | 1.5 | 52.5 | 140 GWh | 2003 | 28% | S 37.40° | E 143.11° |
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Photo taken in April 2008 |
| Capacity factor | Estimated at 32% |
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| Availability | No figure |
| Wind generators | Neg Micon |
| Expected life | 25 years |
| Project cost | Aus$76 million |
| Power purchase agreement | Origin Energy |
| Greenhouse gas saving | Estimated at 180 000 tonnes CO2 p.a. |
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Chepstowe Wind FarmFuture Energy has lodged plans for a very small wind farm at Chepstowe, 30km west of Ballarat.If built it will be on land at 346 Carngham-Streaton Road.
The information above was extracted from an article by Emily Sobey in the Ballarat Courier on 2010/02/21. Quoting the article: Pyrenees Shire Mayor David Clark said a few local residents were concerned about the Chepstowe proposal but council's initial view was that it was a "very simple" proposal. "The landholder's property is a kilometre away and there are no other properties within 2km," Cr Clark said. "It's a very small development, nowhere near the infrastructure (of other wind farms). You have three turbines right beside a normal powerline so there are no sub-stations." |
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| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Annual production | Completed | Lat. | Long. |
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| Operating | 14 | 1.3 | 18.2 | 51GWh | June 2001 | S 38.28° | E 141.96° |
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| Pacific Hydro has proposed this wind farm for a site 25km NE of Ararat in western Victoria. (Ararat is 190km WNW of Melbourne.) The turbines will be along the ridgeline between Glenlofty and Crowlands. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | Up to 72 | App. 2.3 | App. 172 | Undecided | Approx. S 37.13° | E 143.16° |
| Project cost | Aus$360 million |
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| Greenhouse gas saving | 380 000-560 000t/yr |
| Annual production | Up to 430GWh |
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The information in these tables came from a variety of sources including
Pacific Hydro.
The Ararat Advertiser carried an article on 2010/08/20 stating that "Planning Minister Justin Madden this week granted planning permits for the proposed Crowlands Wind Farm". |
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The site of this proposed wind farm is about 10km NW of Yarram and 20km
from the coast in south Gippsland.
The nearest large town is Traralgon, 44km to the north, and it is 170km
ESE of Melbourne.
Synergy is the
proposer of this wind farm.
Some of the data below was from Dept. Primary Industry, Victoria. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | 7 | 2 | 14 | Late 2009? | Approx. S 38.50° | E 146.55° |
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There seems to be more opposition to this proposal than most.
On 21st December 2007 the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal over-ruled objections by some local residents, landholders, and the Shire Council and gave the project the go-ahead subject to it meeting 22 conditions. (This from a report in the Gippsland Times.) |
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There seems to have been little or no activity on this project for several
years (as of October 2008).
The developer is Wind Farm Developments who have a Net
site on the wind farm.
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| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | 13 | 2.3 | 30 | Undecided | Approx. S 38.28° | E 142.62° |
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The proponent is Gamesa Energy Australia and TME Australia P.L.
The proposed wind farm is 50km SE of Hamilton and 30km NW of Warrnambool.
Most of the information for this wind farm came from a report available via TME Aust.'s Projects page. It was dated September 2006. The area has been substantially cleared and is currently used for grazing. The site is generally bound by the Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road and the Penshurst-Warrnambool Road. It is dissected by a disused rail reserve in the eastern part. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | 31 | 2 | 62 | Undecided | Approx. S 38.12° | E 142.34° |
| Project cost | Around Aus$130 million |
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| Annual generation | Estimated 163GWh |
| Annual CO2 abatement | Estimated 332 thousand tonnes |
| Tower height | 78m |
| Rotor diameter | 87m |
| Blade length | 43.5m |
| Total height | 121.5m |
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The ABC on-line news carried the following on 2008/08/25... "The Victorian Government has confirmed a 68-turbine farm at Ryan's Corner, near Port Fairy, and a 31-turbine farm near Hawkesdale, will go ahead." |
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This proposed wind farm will be in the vicinity of Lal Lal, 25km SE of
Ballarat.
There will be two sections, one just north of Elaine (south of
Lal Lal, 40 turbines) and the other east of Yendon (north of Lal Lal
and 24 turbines).
The proposer is WestWind, from whose Internet pages, especially Lal Lal Wind Farm, most of this information came. Westwind has a planning permit for the wind farm. WestWind released an independently carried out study on 1/10/2007. The study was conducted in November 2006 and showed, they say, that at that time more than 80% of the community around the wind farm supported the proposed construction. West Wind had an office in Buninyong until 4th June 2009, they then moved it to Mt Helen. The Moorabool Leader on-line news reported, on 24th June 2008, that six of the proposed turbines will be relocated due to discovery of Aboriginal artifacts. West Wind Energy representative Adam Gray said on Feb. 17th 2009 that he did not feel that financing the project would be a problem. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | 64 | 2-3 | 128-192 | 2012? | S 37.71° | E 144.01° |
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This community owned wind farm has a Net page at
Hepburn Wind Park.
It is 27km NE of Ballarat and 10km south of Daylesford at Leonard's Hill.
Cathy Morris wrote an article in The Courier (of Ballarat) on 3 Feb. 2010 stating that "After more than five years of planning and fundraising, Australia's first community-run windfarm has placed an order for turbines". $11.5 million had been raised and only one million more was needed. |
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Much of the data here was from Dept. Primary Industry Victoria, Wind Power, and ABARE.
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On 2010/08/12 AGL announced that they
and Meridian Energy had "entered binding contracts to construct a 420MW
wind farm at Macarthur ... at a total capital cost of $1 billion."
When built Macarthur Wind Farm will be the biggest in Australia and
the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere so far as I have been able to find
out.
In late August 2010 there was a Macarthur wind farm Net page "under counstruction"; it was still "under construction" on 2010/09/07. Macarthur is 33km south of Hamilton and about 270km west of Melbourne; the wind farm will be 12 to 15km east of Macarthur. Some of the data below was from Dept. Primary Industry, Victoria. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Expected completion | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | 140 | 3.0 | 420 | Early 2013 | Approx. S 38.04° | E 142.20° |
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The wind farm will use Vestas V-112-3.0MW wind turbines and will be
constructed by a Vestas/Leighton Contractors consortium.
AGL will acquire all of the wind farm's energy output and renewable
energy certificates.
AGL has assesed the average wind speed at 7.6m/s and expects the project
to achieve a capacity factor of 35%.
It will be connected to the Heywood-Mooralbool 500kV transmission line
by a new 14km line.
They expect to create "up to 400 direct jobs at peak during construction,
800 indirect, and 30 during operation".
The Vestas V-112-3.0MW turbines will be equal in generating capacity to the highest elsewhere in Australia (Waterloo WF, SA), and the rotors will be greater in diameter than any in Australia (Waterloo has 90m diameter rotors, compared to the 112m rotors of Macarthur). They will reach their full generating capacity at a wind speed of about 11m/s. The swept area is 9 852m2, almost a hectare; the blades will be 54.6m long. The electricity generated by this wind farm is expected to save 1.7 million tonnes of greenhouse gas each year by replacing coal-fired power station electricity. |
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Moorabool Wind FarmThe developer is West Wind PL and, if built, the farm will be 25-30km southeast of Ballarat and south of Ballan. It is proposed that the wind farm will be in two sections. The Bungeeltap Section, to the north, is proposed to contain 58 wind turbines, and the Ballark (sometimes called Mt Wallace) section, to the south, is proposed to contain 70 turbines. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Proposed | 128 | 2 to 3.3 | 256 to 422 | Undecided | Approx. S 37.71° | E 144.11° |
| Rotor diameter | Up to 104m |
| Total height | Up to 150m (to tip of blade) |
| Expected annual generation | 784GWh |
| Expected project cost | Aus$750m |
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Mortlake Wind FarmProposed by Acciona Energy, this wind farm, if built, will be in two parts, Mortlake East about 9.5km east of Mortlake, and Mortlake South about 5km south of Mortlake. Acciona has a not very informative Net page on the project.On 2010/01/19 The Standard published that Acciona had received approval from the Federal Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, the Department of Planning and Community Development and Aboriginal Affairs Victoria for the farm. Moyne Shire Council had some objections to the farm, or at least was not satisfied with Acciona's studies and reports, see The Standard.
The construction date above is from AEMO who gave the capacity as 144MW (2010/04/08). The turbine capacity and total wind farm capacity above were not stated on Acciona's Net page but were back-calculated from the number of turbines and the expected carbon dioxide abatement stated on the site (520 000 tonnes per year). |
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The developer is
NewEN Australia, who have removed
the Net page that they did have on this farm.
The wind farm is to be 12km NE of Penshurst which is 26km SE of Hamilton
and 230km west of Melbourne.
Some of the data below was from Dept. Primary Industry, Victoria. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | 13 | 2.3 | 30 | Undecided | Approx. S 37.84° | E 142.41° |
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There seems to have been no action on this project since it was given initial planning approval. (This note added 2008/10/07)
This proposed wind farm will be in the vicinity of Mount Gellibrand, 120km
west of Melbourne and south of Colac.
The project has changed hands twice and is now (Sept. 2008) owned by Acciona. The number of turbines to be built is under review. A spokesman for Acciona said that there are "still several planning hurdles to clear". |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | 116 | 2 | 232 | Summer 2012/13 | Approx. S 38.52° | E 143.53° |
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This proposed wind farm will be south of Mount Mercer and 35km
south of Ballarat (turn off the Midland Highway at Buninyong and go
directly south) and was given planning approval in April 2007.
Meridian Energy, a NZ company, and West Wind Energy are the proponents for this project; there is a Net page. A Planning Panel Report was released in December 2006. The Ballarat Courier, 2009/03/09, quoted West Wind Energy general manager Tobias Geiger as saying that the Mount Mercer Wind Farm had been delayed waiting for the Rudd Government to write its promised Mandatory Renewable Energy Target into law. As of 2010/04/10 there seems to have been no recent news on the project. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | Up to 64 | 2.05 | Up to 131 | By 2012 | S 37.85° | E 143.87° |
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| Cost | Aus$250 million |
| Expected generation | Up to 395GWh per year |
| Expected life | 25 years |
| Turbines | |
| Type | Enercon E82 |
| Height of towers | Up to 85m |
| Rotor diameter | 82m |
| Total height of turbines, to blade tip | Expected 126m |
| Spacing of towers | Around 400m |
| The site is relatively flat except for two volcanic cones: Mt Mercer and Mt Lawaluk. The land is used primarily for grazing and cropping. There are seven host landholders and the site area is 2 600ha. |
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The developer is Wind Farm Developments.
Naroghid is between Camperdown, Terang and Cobden, and about 50km NNE of
Warrnambool and 180km WSW of Melbourne.
Some of the data below was from Dept. Primary Industry, Victoria. There is a Net site by Wind Farm Developments. As of 2010/04/10 there seems to be no news about this project on the Net. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | 21 | 2 | 42 | By 2011 | Approx. S 38.26° | E 143.04° |
Estimated capital cost of the project is Aus$200m. ABC On-line news reported on 12th March 2010 that "The State Government fast tracked [the wind farm] last year because it will be used to offset the emissions of the new desalination plant in Wonthaggi." |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Completion due | Lat. | Long. |
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| Under construction | 32 | 2.1 | 67.2 | August 2011 | Approx. S 37.68° | E 142.55° |
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Victorian Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor turned the first
sod on the site on 2010/03/19.
Windlab Systems has a Net page on the project and Suzlon, who are supplying the turbines, have a downloadable pdf file. Suzlon have taken responsibility for most of the construction, including roads, turbines and electrical system, as well as maintenance once the farm is operating. All the 26km of electrical cable within the farm is to be underground. |
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Portland Wind Energy Project
Portland Wind Energy Project Stage 1
Visiting YambukWhile the Princes Highway passes within a few kilometres of the wind farm it is not possible to get close to the turbines on any public roads. A road from the township of Yambuk to some coastal lakes provides a fair view of the south-eastern end of the wind farm. The photo on the right was taken from this area.Note that this wind farm is adjacent to Codrington Wind Farm, with no obvious boundary between the two. I believe tours are available.
Yambuk is located adjacent to the older Codrington Wind Farm and about 15km west of Port Fairy. The information in these tables came from a variety of sources including Pacific Hydro.
Generation record for YambukThe graph on the right shows the power generation record for Yambuk 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 Yambuk data from Pacific Hydro...
Portland Wind Energy Project Stage 2
Cape Bridgewater Wind Farm
The wind farm is built on coastal stable sand-dune country. Visiting Cape BridgewaterFor anyone interested in visiting or photography, there are some good vantage points on a public road quite close to the northern section of the wind farm. When the southern section is built access would be similarly good there. When I visited, the weather was poor for photography (mainly overcast).
Cape Nelson Wind FarmLocated on Cape Nelson about 10km SW of Portland.When I visited in late March 2008 there was a concrete batching plant present and some bases were prepared. Once built there should be potential for good photographs and views.
Cape Nelson Wind Farm will be devided into a north and a south section.
Erection of turbines in Cape Nelson South commenced in September 2008, the turbines are Repower and they operate at wind speeds of from 3.5 to 25m/s. The towers were manufactured by Keppel Prince Engineering.
Cape Nelson North is "yet to be investment sanctioned" by Pacific Hydro, and as of 2009/06/09 the size and type of turbine had not been decided. On 2008/09/10 Pacific Hydro announced that they are going to build only 27 turbines rather than the originally planned 58 at Cape Nelson "because of improvements in turbine technology". The turbine layout map for Cape Nelson North, downloadable from the Pacific Hydro Net site, shows eleven turbines.
Cape Sir William Grant Wind FarmLocated about 5km south of Portland in mixed industrial, grazing, and coastal heath reserve land.
Cape Sir William Grant is "yet to be investment sanctioned" by Pacific Hydro. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This very small wind farm is proposed by Future Energy PL, who have
applied for planning approval.
Future Energy have a
Net page
on the project.
It is proposed that the farm will be just to the north of the Western Highway, six kilometres NE of Ballan and about 37km east of Ballarat. The planning application was lodged in January 2010. Future Energy hope to receive a planning permit in the first half of 2010 and negotiate for ordering the turbines in the second half of the year. |
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The proponent is Gamesa Energy Australia and Union Fenosa Wind Aust.
The proposed wind farm is 12km NW of Port Fairy, near Yambuk and
Codrington.
The site covers an area of approximately 3 600ha and comprises twelve land holdings. It has been substantially cleared and is currently used for grazing. It is generally bound by the Port Fairy-Hamilton Road, Fingerboard Road, and Shaw River. It is dissected by Riverside Road and Harris Road. Most of the information for this wind farm came from a report available via TME Aust.'s Projects page. It was dated 2006. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | 68 | 2 | 136 | Undecided | Approx. S 38.28° | E 142.14° |
| Project cost | Up to Aus$300 million |
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| Annual generation | Estimated 360GWh |
| Annual CO2 abatement | Estimated 332 thousand tonnes |
| Tower height | 78m |
| Rotor diameter | 87m |
| Blade length | 43.5m |
| Total height | 121.5m |
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The ABC on-line news carried the following on 2008/08/25... "The Victorian Government has confirmed a 68-turbine farm at Ryan's Corner, near Port Fairy, and a 31-turbine farm near Hawkesdale, will go ahead." |
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The developer is
NewEN Australia, they had a Net page
on this wind farm, but it is no longer available.
The wind farm is to about 20km north of Mortlake, which is 42km NE of
Warrnambool and 190km SSW of Melbourne.
It was given planning approval in June 2007; as of October 2008 that seems
to be the last information made public by NewEN Australia.
Some of the data below was from Dept. Primary Industry, Victoria. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Approved | 13 | 2.3 | 30 | Undecided | Approx. S 37.92° | E 142.79° |
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The developer is Roaring 40s who have been investigating the Sidonia Hills
site since 2004.
An email I had from infoaustralia@roaring40s.com stated that Roaring 40s
expected to submit a planning application in late 2009.
Direct inquiries to the above or to SidoniaHills@roaring40s.com.
The site is about 10km NE of Kyneton, which is about 60km NE of Ballarat. Roaring 40s first newsletter states that: "The site is particularly well suited to wind farming because, among other things:
Roaring 40s has a Net page on the project. Their home page is http://www.roaring40s.com.au/. They released a newsletter on this project in August 2008; this reported that they intend to submit their planning application in late September and that they expect a determination by the Minister in early 2009. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
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| Proposed | 34 | 2 | 68 | Undecided | Approx. S 37.17° | E 144.55° |
| Project data | |
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| Project cost | Aus$130-150 million |
| Greenhouse gas saving | Estimated at 250 000 tonnes CO2 p.a. |
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Sisters Wind FarmThe Sisters Wind Farm has been proposed by Wind Farm Developments and, if built, will be about 10km west of Terang. Wind Farm Developments have a not very informative Net page on the project.Moyne Shire Council declined planning permission and Wind Farm Developments has appealed the decision to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) (sources close to the project, 2009/08/20).
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Wind Power (fully owned by Origin Energy) have proposed this farm between
Beaufort and Skipton, and about 45km west of Ballarat.
They had a Net page on it, but this is no longer present.
ABC online news, Oct. 14 2008, reported that the Planning Minister had decided that an environmental impact statement would not be required for this project. Wind Power's Ross Richards said "the Government has recognised that the company has already done the studies normally required under an EES".
Wind Power say that the power from the farm will be sufficient to power six times as many homes as are in Ballarat. They say that the community fund will receive over $140 000 over 25 years, that local landowners will be paid over $2m/yr and rates paid to the Pyrenees Shire will be over $540 000/yr. |
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| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Commissioned | Lat. | Long. |
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| Operating | 12 | 1.75 | 21 | 2002 | S 38.65° | E 146.34° |
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Toora Wind Farm was originally owned by Stanwell Corporation, but was acquired by Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund, who bought all Stanwell's wind farms in December 2007.
ALSTOM was contracted to design, supply, install and commission the 22/66kV substation, together with associated civil works.
Vestas Wind Systems - a Danish company, and one of the world's largest
turbine manufacturers - constructed the wind farm.
I visited Toora in late April 2008, staying in the caravan park at the foot
of the hill on which the wind farm is built.
My impression when I was close to the turbines was that they might have
been a little noisier than most others I have visited, but even so,
they were barely audible from the caravan park, and then only once in a
while.
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| Turbine data | |
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| Rotation rate | 21.3 revolutions per minute |
| Productive wind speeds | From 4 to 25m/sec (14km/h) |
| Cut-in wind speed | 4m/sec (14km/h) |
| Nominal wind speed | 16m/sec (58km/h) |
| Stop wind speed | 25m/sec (90km/h) |
| Wind generators | Vestas |
| Tower height | 67m |
| Tower construction | Tapered steel tube in 3 sections |
| Tower weight | 117t |
| Tower footings | App. 13 metres square reinforced concrete app. 1.75m deep; weight 600t |
| Rotor diameter | 66m |
| Blade length | 33m |
| Blades | Variable pitch; made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic |
| Weight of rotor and blades | 23 tonnes |
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Waubra Wind Farm is owned by Acciona Wind Power, a sister company of Acciona Energy, and is the biggest wind farm AWP has yet built anywhere in the world. Acciona Energy has an informative Net page on Waubra Wind Farm, including a location map, and there is an article in Wikipedia. It seems that ANZ Infrastructure Services and Origin Energy may also be part owner.
An engineer, Graeme Hood, from Ballarat University, tested infrasound levels at the wind farm. Graeme's test results are summarised on my Wind problems page.
Several sources have published that Waubra is the biggest Wind Farm in
Australia.
In fact
Lake Bonney Wind Farm
(Stages 1 to 3 combined) has a capacity of 278.5MW, considerably bigger
than the 192MW of Waubra.
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Cap. Fac. | Completion date | Lat. | Long. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating | 128 | 1.5 | 192 | 36% | Oct. 2009 | S 37.39° | E 143.63° |
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The turbines are in three configurations, the maximum height to the blade tip being: 109.8m, 117.1m, and 119.8m. Air navigation lights are installed on 48 of the 128 wind turbine towers.
Acciona Energy is planning a wind farm viewing area on the Sunraysia
Highway in Waubra.
This will not be near any of the turbines and much more interesting
views will be available for those who get off the highway onto the side
roads.
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| Civil works completed | September 2007 |
|---|---|
| First turbine parts to arrive on site | Nov./Dec. 2007 |
| Tower erection started | 17th Dec. 2007 |
| Nacelle erection started | 9th Jan. 2008 |
| Turbine model | Acciona Windpower 1.5MW |
| Towers manufactured by | Keppel Prince Engineering (Portland) and Haywards Engineering (Tasmania) |
| Nacelles and hubs manufactured by | Acciona Windpower (Pamplona, Spain) |
| Blades manufactured by | Tecsis (Brazil) |
| Project cost | Aus$326 million |
| Greenhouse gas saving | Estimated at 635 000 tonnes CO2 p.a. |
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Waubra North Wind FarmProposed by Acciona, the builders of Waubra Wind Farm, this farm is to be about 9km NE of Waubra, near Evansford (and Clunes). It will be about 30km NNW of Ballarat.Acciona Energy's managing director Brett Thomas was reported in the Ballarat Courier on 2009/02/27 as saying that they are in the early stages of the proposal.
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Winchelsea Wind FarmAlso known as Inverleigh Wind FarmThis wind farm is proposed by International Power Australia who expect construction to start in 2010 and operation in 2011.It is proposed that this wind farm will be on Mt Pollock and 10km north-east of Winchelsea and about the same distane SE of Inverleigh; both of which are near Geelong. The towers are expected to be 80m high, the blades 35m to 29m in length and the farm is expected to generate around 85GWh of electricity each year. Much of this information came from International Power's Net site. There is also some information on Future Energy's news page. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approved | 14 | 2 | 28 | Undecided | S 38.17° | E 144.08° |
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For an interactive map and/or directions to Wonthaggi go to
ExplorOz.
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Annual production | Commissioned | Lat. | Long. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating | 6 | 2 | 12 | 34GWh expected | December 2005 | S 38.60° | E 145.55° |
| Project cost | Aus$20.4 million |
|---|---|
| Greenhouse gas saving | Estimated at 47 830 tonnes CO2 p.a. |
| Average wind speed at site | 8.2m/sec. |
| Actual generation in 2006 | 28.4GWh |
| Capacity factor for 2006 | 27% |
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Proposed by Windfarm Developments (who have a Net
page on the project),
this wind farm is to be built 16km north
of Warrnambool and about 2km west of the township of Woolsthorpe.
An anmometry mast was erected in July 2002 and the Minister for Planning approved the farm in April 2008. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approved | 20 | 2 | Approx. 40 | By 2011 | Approx. S 38.18° | E 142.40° |
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Yaloak is near Ballan in western Victoria.
Ballan is 33km east of Ballarat and 68km west of Melbourne.
This project was originally for "70 wind turbines and was refused by Minister Hulls in July 2005 due to the potential impact of the development on the Wedge-tailed Eagle population and, to a lesser extent, visual amenity in the Parwan Valley." Pacific Hydro lodged a planning application for a 30MW farm in December 2009. |
| Status | # Turbines | MW each | Total MW | Construction date | Lat. | Long. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposed | 14 | 2.1? | Approx. 30 | Undecided | Approx. S 37.61° | E 144.23° |
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In addition to the wind farms detailed above many others have been proposed
(table below).
If and when any of these proposed wind farms look likely to be built, and as I get more information, I will write them up in more detail. If any readers have information concerning these 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. |
Wind farms that have been proposed in VictoriaIn alphabetical order | |||||
| Project name | Area | Sponsoring Company | Capacity, MW | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baynton | Between Bendigo and Ballarat | ?Transfield and WindLab Systems | 50 | Feasibility, construction possible in 2013 | |
| Ben More | 150km NW of Melbourne | Transfield Services | 90 | Feasibility study, possible construction in 2014 | |
| Black Rock Community | Melbourne? | Future Energy PL (Community owned) | 2 | Feasibility | |
| Carrajung and Blackwarry | Gippsland | Synergy Wind PL | 50 | Proposed | |
| Darlington Wind Farm Project | West of Lismore | Union Fenosa Wind Australia | 270-450 | Feasibility study | |
| Dean | Ballarat, Creswick | Wind Power PL. | 20 | Proposed | |
| Discovery Bay | Glenelg Shire, SW Vic. | Synergy Wind PL | 30 | Proposed | |
| Dollar | N Gippsland N of Foster | AGL Energy | 80 | Suspended | |
| Lake Gillear/Logans Beach | Warrnambool | Skygen/CLP | 40 | Abandoned | |
| Korumburra | Leongatha | Wind Power PL | 12 | Feasibility | |
| Point Lonsdale/Marcus Hill | Geelong | Wind Power PL | 5 | Proposed | |
| Newfield | Warrnambool/ Colac | Acciona Energy | 22.5 | Seeking Approval (construction in 2017/18, AEMO) | |
| Nirranda | Warrnambool | ?Stanwell Corporation | 50 | Proposed | |
| Nirranda South | Warrnambool | Wind Farm Developments/Meridian Energy | 50 | Proposed | |
| Orford | 28km NW of Port Fairy | Future Energy | 100 | Feasitility study | |
| Pyrenees | NW of Ballarat | Wind Power PL | 200 | Proposed | |
| Rosedale | East Gippsland | ? | 50 | Feasibility | |
| St Clair | West Gippsland | Synergy Wind PL | 50 | Proposed | |
| Scienceworks/Spotswood | Melbourne | Scienceworks/Future Energy | 2 | Feasibility | |
| Tarrone | 25km N of Pt Fairy | Union Fenosa Wind Aust. | 30-40 | Feasibility | |
| Smeaton-Tuki | Ballarat/ Creswick | Wind Power (fully owned by Origin Energy) | 100? | Proposed | |
| Welshpool | S Gippsland | AGL Energy | 18 | Feasibility | |
Index
Wind home On this page... Ararat Wind Farm Bald Hills Wind Farm Baynton Wind Farm Ben More Wind Farm Berrimal Wind Farm Berrybank Wind Farm Black Rock Community Wind Farm Cape Bridgewater Wind Farm Cape Nelson Wind Farm Cape Sir William Grant Wind Farm Carrajung and Blackwarry Wind Farm Challicum Hills Wind Farm Chepstowe Wind Farm Codrington Wind Farm Colour coding for wind farm status_table Contents Crowlands Wind Farm Darlington Wind Farm Daylesford Wind Farm Dean Wind Farm Devon North Wind Farm Discovery Bay Wind Farm Dollar Wind Farm Drysdale Wind Farm Example wind power generation graph Hawkesdale Wind Farm Hepburn Wind Farm Installed wind power in Victoria Installed wind power, by wind farm Introduction Inverleigh Wind Farm Korumburra Wind Farm Lake Gillear Wind Farm Lal Lal Wind Farm Leonard's Hill Wind Farm Lexton Wind Farm Logans Beach Wind Farm Macarthur Wind Farm Marcus Hill Wind Farm Moorabool Wind Farm Mortlake Wind Farm Mortons Lane Wind Farm Mount Gellibrand Wind Farm Mount Mercer Wind Farm Naroghid Wind Farm Newfield Wind Farm Nirranda South Wind Farm Nirranda Wind Farm Oaklands Hill Wind Farm Operating Victorian wind farms - MW Other proposed wind farms Point Lonsdale Wind Farm Portland wind project Purnim Wind Farm Pykes Hill Wind Farm Pyrenees Wind Farm Rosedale Wind Farm Ryan Corner Wind Farm Salt Creek Wind Farm Scienceworks Wind Farm Sidonia Hills Wind Farm Sisters Wind Farm Smeaton Wind Farm Spotswood Wind Farm St Clair Wind Farm Stockyard Hill Wind Farm Toora Wind Farm Top Tuki Wind Farm Waubra North Wind Farm Waubra Wind Farm Welshpool Wind Farm Winchelsea Wind Farm Wind farms by region Wind power in Victoria Wind resource map of Victoria Wonthaggi Wind Farm Woodhouse Wind Farm Woolsthorpe Wind Farm Woorndoo Wind Farm Yaloak Wind Farm Yambuk Wind Farm Yarram Wind Farm |
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