Wind power in Australia: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 04:41, 27 March 2007

Wind power in Australia is a relatively new way of generating electricity in Australia, but has been used for most of European history in Australia for operating mills and pumping water.

Australia has excellent wind resources by world standards. The southern coastline lies in the roaring forties and hundreds of sites have average wind speeds above 8 or even 9 m/sec at 50 m above ground (hub height of a modern wind generator). Southwest Western Australia, southeast South Australia, western Victoria, northern Tasmania and elevated areas of New South Wales and Queensland all have very good wind resources. Several states engaged in systematic wind speed monitoring in the 1980s and 1990s, the results of which are publicly available.^[1]

At the end of 2006, Australia had installed electricity generation capacity from wind power of 817 MW.^[2] Nationally, wind farms contribute about 1% of total electricity production. In the state of South Australia, this figure is much higher at 9.2% (2005). Australian wind farms produce on average capacity factors of 30-35%, making wind an attractive option in the country.

The largest wind farms in Australia are:

Wattle Point (SA) - 90.75MW
Alinta/Walkaway (WA) - 90MW
Lake Bonney Stage 1 (SA) - 80.5MW
Cathedral Rocks (SA) - 66MW
Blayney (NSW) - 9.9 MW
Crookwell (NSW) - 4.8 MW
Hampton (NSW) - 1.3 MW
Kooragang Island (NSW) - 0.6 MW

Projects and status by state

State	Project Name	Sponsoring Company	Coordinates	Capacity	Status
NSW	Kooragang Island, Newcastle	Energy Australia	32°52′38.94″S 151°44′54.95″E / 32.8774833°S 151.7485972°E / -32.8774833; 151.7485972	0.6 Mw	Installed
NSW	Crookwell	Eraring Energy		4.8 Mw	Installed
NSW	Blayney	Eraring Energy		9.9 Mw	Installed
NSW	Hampton	Wind Corporation Australia		1.32 Mw	Installed
NSW	Black Springs	Wind Corporation		40 Mw	Feasibility
NSW	Cooma	Pacific Hydro		100 Mw	Feasibility
NSW	Crookwell II	TME/ Gamesa		92 Mw	Planning Approved
NSW	Southern Highlands	ANZ Infrastructure Services		30 Mw	Project Suspended
NSW	Lord Howe Island			0.3 Mw	Feasibility
NSW	Spring Hill	ACTEW AGL		10 Mw	Feasibility
NSW	Murrurundi	GHG & GREP		35 Mw	Feasibility
NSW	Rock Flat Creek	Pacific Hydro		100 Mw	Feasibility
NSW	Woodlawn / Tarago	Collex/ Acciona Energy/ ActewAGL/ ANZ Inf.Services		50 Mw	Project Suspended
NSW	Molonglo	Acciona Energy		120 Mw	Feasibility
NSW	Snowy Plains (Berridale)	Taurus Energy Pty Ltd		26 Mw	Planning Approved
NSW	Taralga	RES Southern Cross		105 Mw	Planning Approved
NSW	Gunning	Delta Energy		62 Mw	Planning Approved
NSW	Ben Lomond Guyla	Energreen Winds		106 Mw	Seeking Approval
NSW	Liverpool Range	Macquarie Generation		6.6 Mw	Seeking Approval
NSW	Paling Yards	Gamesa/TME		90 Mw	Feasibility
NSW	Conroys Gap Yass	Taurus Energy		30 Mw	Seeking Approval
NSW	Cullerin Range Gunning	Taurus Energy		30 Mw	Seeking Approval
NSW	Evandale Goulburn	Taurus Energy		30 Mw	Project Suspended
NSW	Capital Bungendore	Renewable Power Ventures		126 Mw	Seeking Approval
NSW	Bannister	Marubeni Corporation		30 Mw	Proposed
NSW	Crookwell Plateau	ANZ Infrastructure Services Ltd		30 Mw	Proposed
NSW	Goulburn District	ActewAGL		10 Mw	Proposed
NSW	Gurrundah	Marubeni Corporation		35 Mw	Proposed
NSW	Mount Spring	ActewAGL		10 Mw	Proposed
Vic	Breamlea	Barwon Water		60kW	Installed
Vic	Aurora(Brunswick)	Citipower		10kW	Installed
Vic	Codrington	Pacific Hydro		1.3MW	Installed
Vic	Toora	Stanwell		1.75MW	Installed
Vic	Challicum Hills	Pacific Hydro		1.5MW	Installed
Vic	Wonthaggi	Wind Power Pty Ltd		2MW	Installed
Vic	Yambuk	Pacific Hydro		1.5MW	Installed
Vic	Bald Hills	Wind Power Pty Ltd		109MW	Planning Approved
Vic	The Portland Wind Energy Project	Pacific Hydro		165MW	Under Tender
Vic	Dollar	AGL		80MW	Project Suspended
Vic	Rosedale	Pacific Hydro		50	Feasibility
Vic	Waubra	Acciona Energy/ ANZ Infrastructure Services		192MW	Under Construction
Vic	Yaloak	Pacific Hydro		105MW	Feasibility
Vic	Macarthur	AGL		329MW	Planning Approved
Vic	Lake Gillear/ Logans Beach	Skygen/CLP		40MW	Abandoned
Vic	Crowlands/ Glenlofty	Pacific Hydro		140MW	Feasibility
Vic	Science Works/ Spotswood	Science Works/ Future Energy Pty Ltd		2MW	Feasibility
Vic	Woorndoo	Sustainable Energy Australia & NewEN Australia		26MW	Feasibility
Vic	Baynton	Stanwell Corporation Ltd and WindLab Systems		50MW	Feasibility
Vic	Naroghid	Wind Farm Developments		30MW	Planning Approved
Vic	Korumburra	Wind Power Pty Ltd		12MW	Feasibility
Vic	Mount Gellibrand	ProVentum		232 MW	Planning Approved
Vic	Breamlea/Black Rock	Future Energy (Community owned)		2 MW	Feasibility
Vic	Welshpool	AGL		18 MW	Feasibility
Vic	Portland	Wind Power Pty Ltd		17.5 MW	Feasibility
Vic	Yarram Wind Farm	Synergy Wind		18MW	Feasibility
Vic	Sidonia Hills	Hydro Tasmania		120MW	Feasibility
Vic	Newfield	Acciona Energy		22.5MW	Seeking Approval
Vic	Berrimal	Acciona Energy		18MW	Seeking Approval
Vic	Leonard's Hill	Hepburn Renewable Energy Association		4MW	Seeking Approval
Vic	Ballan	Pacific Hydro		90 MW	proposed
Vic	Cape Bridgewater	Pacific Hydro		51 MW	Proposed
Vic	Cape Bridgewater and Cape Nelson	Energy Equity Corp		18 MW	Proposed
Vic	Cape Nelson	Primergy Ltd & Wind Propect Pty Ltd		15 MW	Proposed
Vic	Cape Nelson	Pacific Hydro		66 MW	Proposed
Vic	Cape Sir William Grant	Pacific Hydro		12 MW	Proposed
Vic	Dean	Wind Power Pty Ltd		20 MW	Proposed
Vic	Nirranda	Stanwell Corporation		50 MW	Proposed
Vic	Nirranda South	Wind Farm Developments/Meridian Energy		50 MW	Proposed
Vic	Point Lonsdale-Marcus Hill	Wind Power Pty Ltd		5 MW	Proposed
Vic	Pyreness	Wind Power Pty Ltd		200 MW	Proposed
Vic	Wonthaggi	Wind Power Pty Ltd		10.5 MW	Proposed
Qld	Coconut Island (decommissioned)	Ergon Energy		0.01MW	Installed
Qld	Thursday Island	Ergon Energy		0.45MW	Installed
Qld	Windy Hill	Stanwell		12MW	Installed
Qld	High Road	Stanwell Corporation		40MW	Feasibility
Qld	Windy Hill Stage 2	Stanwell Corporation		12MW	Feasibility
Qld	Crows Nest	Energreen		124MW	Planning Approved
Qld	Coowonga	Earth Energy		0.02MW	Feasibility
Qld	North Stradbroke Island	Stanwell Corporation		15MW	Proposed
Qld	Crediton	Stanwell Corporation		30MW	Proposed
SA	Coober Pedy			0.15 MW	Installed
SA	Starfish Hill	Tarong Energy		34.5 MW	Installed
SA	Canunda	International Power/ Wind Prospect		46 MW	Installed
SA	Lake Bonney Stage 1	Babcock & Brown National Power		80.5 MW	Installed
SA	Wattle Point Wind Farm	AGL & Wind Farm Developments		90.75 MW	Installed
SA	Mount Millar (Yabmana)	Tarong Energy		70 MW	Installed
SA	Cathedral Rocks	Hydro Tasmania & Acciona Energy		66 MW	Installed
SA	Barunga	Wind Prospect		170 MW	Planning Approved
SA	Clements Gap	Pacific Hydro		58 MW	Planning Approved
SA	Elliston Stage 1 (Tungketta Hill)	Ausker Energies & ANZ Infra Sevices		55 MW	Planning Approved
SA	Green Point	Wind Prospect Novera Energy		44 MW	Planning Approved
SA	Hallett	AGL		95 MW	Under Construction
SA	Kongorong	Stanwell Corporation		30 MW	Feasibility
SA	Lake Bonney Stage 2	Babcock & Brown National Power		159 MW	Under Construction
SA	Lake George	Babcock & Brown National Power		120 MW	Feasibility
SA	Lake Hamilton/Sheringa	Hydro Tasmania		110 MW	Feasibility
SA	Mount Benson	Babcock & Brown National Power		130 MW	Feasibility
SA	Myponga/Sellicks Hill	TrustPower		35 MW	Planning Approved
SA	Shea Oak Flat	Pacific Hydro		59 MW	Planning Approved
SA	Snowtown	Trust Power		90 MW	Planning Approved
SA	Troubridge Point	Wind Prospect		25 MW	Planning Approved
SA	Collaby Hill	Wind Farm Developments		120 MW	Feasibility
SA	Uley	Babcock & Brown & National Power		160 MW	Feasibility
SA	Sheringa Beach	Ausker Energies		100 MW	Feasibility
SA	Waterloo	Roaring 40s		117 MW	Project Suspended
SA	Elliston Stage 2	Ausker Energies & ANZ Infra Sevices		65 MW	Planning Approved
SA	Barn Hill (Red Hill)	Stanwell Corp		120 MW	Feasibility
SA	Lincoln Gap	Wind Energy Solutions		123.9 MW	Planning Approved
SA	Eaglehawk	Origin Energy		20 MW	Proposed
SA	Eyre Peninsula	Babcock & Brown		100 MW	Proposed
SA	Kemmiss Hill	Origin Energy		30 MW	Proposed
SA	Loch Well Beach	Ausker Energy		54 MW	Proposed
SA	Mount Millar	Tarong Energy		60 MW	Proposed
SA	Tungketta Hill	Ausker Energies Pty Ltd		49.5 MW	Proposed
SA	Vincent North	Pacific Hydro		59.4 MW	Proposed
SA	Waitpinga	Waitpinga Wind Farm & Wind Farm Developments		50 MW	Proposed
SA	Weymouth Hill	Meridian Energy/Wind Farm Developments		20 MW	Proposed
SA	Woakwine	Beacon Energy		100 MW	Proposed
SA	Woakwine Range	Wind Prospect Pry Ltd		52.5 MW	Proposed
SA	Yabmana	Primergy and Wind Prospect P/L		55 MW	Proposed
WA	Albany Wind Farm	Verve Energy		21 MW	Installed
WA	Alinta Wind Farm near Geraldton	Alinta		90 MW	Installed
WA	Ten Mile Lagoon			2.03 MW	Installed
WA	Nine Mile Beach			3.6 MW	Installed
Tas	Woolnorth Wind Farm			64.75 MW
ACT
NT

Wind turbine efficiency

The efficiency of a wind turbine is defined as the proportion of electrical energy that is derived from the kinetic energy available in the prevailing wind. In theory, a 100% efficiency would imply that all of the wind energy is converted to electrical energy, leaving still air on the lee side of the turbine. In practice, this is neither desirable nor achievable. The maximum theoretical mechanical efficiency of 59% is known as the Betz limit. ^[3]

The horizontal axis turbines of the type commonly used in Australia exhibit varying efficiencies levels at different wind speeds. The maximum efficiency can approach 50%, but the average efficiency over a range of wind speeds is usually closer to 20%.^[4]^[5] Turbines are usually optimised to enable maximum efficiency at a pre-determined wind speed in order to maximise the maximum energy over a long period. This needs to take into account that the available power is proportional to the cube of the wind speed - in other words, a doubling a wind speed increases the available energy eight-fold.

Major retailers of wind power

See http://www.greenelectricitywatch.org.au/ and particularly the scorecard
The products ranked highest are:

GreenEarth Solar, Origin, NSW, SA, Vic
GreenEarth Wind, Origin, NSW, SA, Vic
TRUenergy Wind Power, TRUenergy, ACT, NSW, SA, Vic

References

^ A.W. Blakers,. "Solar and Wind Electricity in Australia" (PDF). Australian Journal of Environmental Management, Vol 7, pp 223-236, 2000. Retrieved 2007-03-23.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
^ "Global wind energy markets continue to boom – 2006 another record year" (PDF). Global Wind Energy Council. 2007-02-02. Retrieved 2007-02-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ "Wind Energy Manual". Iowa Energy Center. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
^ "Power Coefficient". Danish Wind Industry Association. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
^ . Sustainability Victoria http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/SV_Wind_Energy.pdf. Retrieved 2007-03-23. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Text "Wind Energy: The myths and facts" ignored (help)

External links

Wind power and wind farms in South Australia
List of useful links about renewable energy in Australia
"Why Australia needs wind power" by Mark Diesendorf
Australian Wind Energy Association
SA Electricity Industry Supply Planning Council 2005 Wind Study
Global Wind Energy Council: Global Wind Energy Outlook 2006 (2Mb pdf file)
Sustainability Victoria Wind Energy: The Myths and the Facts
Why does Green Power cost extra?

This Australia-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This environment-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] A.W. Blakers,. "Solar and Wind Electricity in Australia" (PDF). Australian Journal of Environmental Management, Vol 7, pp 223-236, 2000. Retrieved 2007-03-23.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)

[2] "Global wind energy markets continue to boom – 2006 another record year" (PDF). Global Wind Energy Council. 2007-02-02. Retrieved 2007-02-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[3] "Wind Energy Manual". Iowa Energy Center. Retrieved 2007-03-23.

[4] "Power Coefficient". Danish Wind Industry Association. Retrieved 2007-03-23.

[5] . Sustainability Victoria http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/SV_Wind_Energy.pdf. Retrieved 2007-03-23. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Text "Wind Energy: The myths and facts" ignored (help)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 Australia has excellent wind resources by world standards. The southern coastline lies in the [[roaring forties]] and hundreds of sites have average wind speeds above 8 or even 9 m/sec at 50 m above ground (hub height of a modern [[wind generator]]). [[Southwest corner of Western Australia|Southwest Western Australia]], [[Limestone Coast|southeast South Australia]], [[Western District|western Victoria]], northern [[Tasmania]] and elevated areas of [[New South Wales]] and [[Queensland]] all have very good wind resources. Several states engaged in systematic wind speed monitoring in the 1980s and 1990s, the results of which are publicly available.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://solar.anu.edu.au/level_1/pubs/papers/Solar&Wind.pdf |author=A.W. Blakers, |title=Solar and Wind Electricity in Australia |journal=Australian Journal of Environmental Management, Vol 7, pp 223-236, 2000 |accessdate=2007-03-23}}</ref>
-At the end of 2006, Australia had installed electricity generation capacity from wind power of 817 MW.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gwec.net/uploads/media/07-02_PR_Global_Statistics_2006.pdf |title=Global wind energy markets continue to boom – 2006 another record year |accessdate=2007-02-24 |date=[[2007-02-02]] |format=PDF |publisher=Global Wind Energy Council}}</ref>
+At the end of 2006, Australia had installed electricity generation capacity from wind power of 817 MW.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gwec.net/uploads/media/07-02_PR_Global_Statistics_2006.pdf |title=Global wind energy markets continue to boom – 2006 another record year |accessdate=2007-02-24 |date=[[2007-02-02]] |format=PDF |publisher=Global Wind Energy Council}}</ref> Nationally, wind farms contribute about 1% of total electricity production. In the state of South Australia, this figure is much higher at 9.2% (2005). Australian wind farms produce on average [[capacity factor]]s of 30-35%, making wind an attractive option in the country.
+The largest wind farms in Australia are:
+#[[Wattle_Point_Wind_Farm|Wattle Point]] (SA) - 90.75MW
+#[[Alinta_Wind_Farm,_Western_Australia|Alinta/Walkaway]] (WA) - 90MW
+#Lake Bonney Stage 1 (SA) - 80.5MW
+#[[Cathedral Rocks Wind Farm, South Australia|Cathedral Rocks]] (SA) - 66MW
+#Blayney (NSW) - 9.9 MW
+#Crookwell (NSW) - 4.8 MW
+#Hampton (NSW) - 1.3 MW
+#Kooragang Island (NSW) - 0.6 MW
 <!-- It looks like someone intended to populate this table but forgot - commented out until it gets some values - Scott Davis 24 Feb 2007