Hallett Wind Farm; more Australian wind farm photos and international wind farm photos

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SA electricity generation, 2009 Emissions (t CO2) Generation (MWh) Generation percentage Coal 4 590 000 4 655 000 33 Gas 4 360 000 6 917 000 50 Renewables 0 2 385 000 17 Over 95% of renewables was wind

In 2009 the SA Electricity Supply Industry Planning Council (ESIPC) annual report stated "The penetration of wind generation in South Australia leads the nation, and is one of the highest in the world [these points continue to be true in 2012], and the Planning Council considers it still has significant growth potential."

The Australian Energy Market Operator's (AEMO) 2011 SA Supply and Demand Outlook report stated that wind generation now supplies approximately 20% of electricity demand (about 3000 GWh of the total of approximately 14 500 GWh consumed in a year). It also showed that SA's greenhouse emissions from electricity generation had decreased from about 10 000 000 tonnes in 2005/06 to about 8 000 000 tonnes in 2010/11. In late 2010 more than half of Australia's installed wind power was in South Australia.

Before 2003 there was only one large wind turbine in South Australia: a 150kW unit at Coober Pedy. As of December 2010 there was 1150MW of operational wind farm capacity in South Australia and the state had a higher installed capacity of wind power per capita than any nation in the world (see Installed wind power per capita and How does Australia compare?).

Growth of the SA wind industry

Unfortunately by March 2011 there was a downturn in wind farm construction. At that time there was only one small wind farm (Bluff Range, 25 turbines) under construction in SA, and there were no others ready to begin construction.

Over the past decade worldwide wind energy generation capacity has been increasing by around 25% per year while wind energy prices have been falling by 4% per year.

SA government sustainable energy initiatives in perspective The figures are installed capacities Project MW Government Adelaide Airport PV 0.11 Goyder Pavilion PV 1.00 Wilpena PV 0.10 Commercial Wind farms (at the end of 2010) 1150.40 Potential further on-shore wind developments 25 000     Potential off-shore wind developments 25 000

The next table on the right places the South Australian Government's projects in perspective against commercial wind farms.

If the SA government was serious about maximising SA's sustainable power it could spend taxpayer's money much more productively than on tiny 'showcase' projects, for example by upgrading power transmission lines.

The lower two sections have been erected for these Brown Hill Range turbines. Two more tower sections to go, followed by the turbine itself. 2007/12/12

Wind, at the present, is the only economically competitive form of sustainable energy ready to take a significant part of the load. Using biological waste and methane from land-fill to generate electricity is feasible and is being done, but its capacity is limited. It is looking like solar thermal and 'hot dry rock' geothermal is close to being competitive, but these are not ready yet and will take many years to 'scale-up' to the point where they are major sources of energy. Wave-power, photovoltaics, harnessing algae to produce fuels, and other alternatives seem further away. A decade or two could change that picture.

Certainly wind power is not 'the answer' to climate change. Only a naive person would believe that there is a single answer, and only a naive person would object to wind power because it is not 'the answer'. It is a part of 'the answer'. Other parts are energy conservation, technological innovation, development of other forms of sustainable energy, and education. (I have listed some suggestions in What should be done.)

ElectraNet ElectraNet "Is the principal Transmission Network Service Provider (TNSP) and System Control Centre Operator in South Australia, and we operate in the National Electricity Market." In regard to the future of wind power their SA Annual Planning Report of 2011 stated that: "Studies show that the existing transmission network has the capacity to enable up to approximately 2300 MW of wind generation in South Australia before generation exceeds regional demand and interconnector export capacity. This means that the currently installed wind generation capacity could roughly be doubled. Beyond this, more extensive development of South Australia's renewable energy resources would require significant transmission investment." Also in the planning report: "Inter-regional capacity to export energy from South Australia is limited, potentially restricting flows from existing and additional generation connecting in South Australia. This is particularly noticeable during periods of light load and high wind conditions".

If the logic in the few sentences above is correct, then wind power must be developed to the maximum reasonable degree and as quickly as possible. Wind farms could be built along most of the west-facing coasts of South Australia. That is, from near Ceduna to Coffin Bay on Eyre Peninsula, along much of the west coast of Yorke Peninsula and from around Meningie to Port MacDonald in the South East. Wind turbines could be built along many of the major rounded north-south ridges of the Mount Lofty Ranges and the Southern Flinders Ranges.

One of the greatest problems for future development of wind power in South Australia is the lack of transmission lines in many of the areas with good wind resources. No further development is possible on the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas for lack of transmission capacity, and the huge potential resource on Kangaroo Island cannot be developed for the same reason.

I would hope and expect that national parks and conservation parks would be kept free of wind farm developments.

Will we get sick of the sight of wind turbines? Quite possibly. The alternatives, it seems to me, are either to throw caution (and sanity) to the wind and continue with fossil fuels, or to totally change our life-styles and enormously cut down on the amount of energy that we use, in our personal lives and in industry. I cannot imagine our society being ready or willing to do the latter and I hope we will not be so stupidly short-sighted as to do the former.

Wind farms in SA
(Locality in brackets)

Australia ranks 53rd in the world in population, but sixth in the world in the CO2 produced by its electricity industry. Australia has 0.3% of the world's population, but produces 1.5% of the world's CO2. We Australian's have an ethical responsibility to lift our game. Changing from fossil-fuel generated electricity to sustainably generated electricity is one way we can do that.

In early 2003 SA had negligible sustainably generated electricity, just nine years later, more than 20% of our electricity is generated from the wind. That is remarkable progress.

In 2011 both Denmark, the world's leading nation, and SA had around 700 Watts of installed wind power per person. I live in Mid North SA where we have around 30 000 Watts per person (see graph above)! If the rest of South Australia, Australia, and the world was to follow our lead we would be well and truly on top of the climate change problem. We are well up among the world leaders in renewable energy. This is something of which those of us in the Mid-North, who either work in or support the wind industry, should be intensely proud.

It is also progress that is in danger of ending if the Liberals should get into government in SA.

This section can be used as an alternative to the Wind farm by region section.

Map credit Acciona

Acciona have a page from which newsletters on all their Australian wind farms can be downloaded: "http://www.acciona.com.au/community/ newslettersAndUpcomingEvents/index.php" (no spaces in URL). Acciona's Community Relations Coordinator for this wind farm is Genevieve Bowyer, free call 1800 283 550 or email to info@allendalewindfarm.com.au.

The District Council of Grant granted approval to Acciona's Development Application in March 2010; however this was appealed; see 'Court case', below.

It is proposed that the wind farm be about two kilometres east of Allendale East and about 18 km south of Mount Gambier. Port Macdonnell is about seven kilometres SW of the farm.

Acciona arranged a visit about September 2010 to the Waubra Wind Farm for the local people who are expecting to become a part of the Allendale project. As well as a guided tour of the wind farm the Allendale people had a chance to chat to farmers involved in the Waubra Wind Farm.

Court case

Richard Paltridge's appeal was upheald and Justice Costello, while rejecting evidence pertaining to health problems, upheld the appeal on the basis of visual amenity. (Reported in The Courier 2011/06/24.) It seems that this is the first time an appeal against a wind farm has been upheald on visual amenity grounds.

On 2011/07/11 ABC on-line news carried an article stating that Acciona is appealing against the ERD Court's ruling.

Community funding

Barn Hill Wind Farm (Red Hill, Mundoora)

Stanwell Corporation, sold their interest in Barn Hill to Transfield Services Infrastructure in December 2007 and on 2009/06/18 AGL Energy Limited announced that it had acquired the rights to Barn Hill Wind Farm.

Transfield held public meetings at Redhill and Mundoora to discuss development of the wind farm in June 2008; they submitted a Development Application to the Port Pirie and Wakefield councils in September 2008 and this was approved in late January 2009.

The Barn Hill Wind Farm, if it is built rather than simply being sold from one potential developer to another, will fill the space along the Barunga Range between Clements Gap and Snowtown Wind Farms. (That is, from the Hope Gap Road in the south to the Torrs Gap Road in the north.)

As of June 2010 my information is that AGL was awaiting the passage of the Renewable Energy Target amendments in the Federal Senate.

Further information on Barn Hill wind farm
Estimated average wind speed	8.3m/sec.

A 'referral' giving more information on the proposal can be downloaded from the EPBC (Federal Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts: Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act) site. (Search under Referrals and public notices.)

I would like to thank Terry Teoh of Pacific Hydro for much of the above information.

News

I had it from Emily Wood on 2011/07/04 that "Carodys Hill is continuing to progress, albeit slowly".

Location plan Map credit The Ceres Project

The wind farm will consist of four turbine regions that will take advantage of the winds, predominantly from the SW and north, on both sides of the Peninsula. Seven years of collected data suggest that average wind speeds are better than eight metres per second.

Under good visibility conditions the turbines will probably be just visible from the coast near Adelaide, at a distance of about 60 km, and more reliably from Mount Lofty. The wind farm will be about 70 km from the Adelaide CBD. The Wattle Point Wind Farm is just a little further from Adelaide.

If built, this wind farm will be bigger than any currently in Australia, including the 420 MW Macarthur Wind Farm under construction in Victoria.

The power will be sent to Adelaide by an undersea cable having a diameter of about 10 cm (because the existing power transmission lines are operating at their maximum capacity). High voltage direct current (HVDC) technology will be used. The lack of suitable transmission lines for the development of sustainable energy in Australia is discussed elswhere on this site.

The project was initiated by local farmers and developers. The Ceres name comes from a ship that was powered both by sails and steam and built in 1876. Its captain, John Germein, bacame an early pioneer of Yorke Peninsula, and several of his decendents are among the farmers involved in the proposal. (Ceres is the name of the largest of the asteroids, and the first to be discovered, in 1801; and also the Roman goddess of agriculture.)

A similar wind farm, with undersea transmission cable, could be built on Kangaroo Island, where the wind resource is probably even better than in this area. This may not have been proposed because of expected public resistance or because the undersea cable would have to be longer and therefore more expensive.

The REVE article went on to state that the development application could be submitted as early as the end of 2012.

Hallett wind farms

Not only is the Hallett group the biggest in installed capacity, it is by far the most productive wind farm in Australia, generating an average of about 116 MW. Once Bluff Range comes on line latter this year the Hallett wind farms will probably be generating an average of about 137 MW, almost twice as much power as Waubra (in second place) which is averaging about 69 MW.

A confusing feature of the Hallett area is that:

• Hallett Hill (the hill and the wind farm) is close to the township of Mount Bryan, much further from the township of Hallett.
• Mount Bryan (the geographical feature and the proposed wind farm) is close to the township of Hallett, much further from the township of Mount Bryan.

Not only are there many high capacity turbines at Hallett, but they are very productive; up to September 2010 both Brown Hill Range and Hallett Hill had achieved capacity factors of 40%, resulting in the Hallett wind farms generating more power than any other in Australia. 40% is exceptionally high for any wind farm and it is at least partly due to the very high quality of the wind resource in the area.

Community funding AGL provide $15 000 per year for each of the Hallett wind farms numbers 1, 2, 4 and 5; if number 3 (Mount Bryan) is approved AGL have promised $30 000 per year for it.

Hallett is also ideal for wind farm development because of excess capacity in the electricity transmission line that passes through the area – it was built in the expectation of further development of coal-fired power in Port Augusta that never happened – and the natural gas pipeline that is available for electricity generation to fill-in when the wind isn't blowing. (Note that, as has been the case elsewhere, the transmission lines were not built to harvest the renewable power of the wind.)

I believe that the closest occupied houses to the Hallett turbines are generally about one kilometre from the turbines.

Wind turbines on Brown Hill Range at sunrise. Booborowie Valley on the left. Brown Hill Range is one of the Hallett wind farms.

Wind home Top SA wind farms Index

The Hallett wind farms are a group of six, five of which were originally proposed by Wind Prospect; all are in the area around Hallett and Mount Bryan, north of Burra. The sixth, North Brown Hill Wind Farm, was added later. They are all around 170 km north of Adelaide. The originally proposed five developments aimed to have an output capacity of about 320 MW produced by 160 two-megawatt turbines.

Map of some of the Hallett wind farm locations (and proposed locations)
Acknowledgment, AGL, April 2009 Bluff Range Wind Farm, Hallett #5, is roughly half way between #1 and #3, on the south side of the Wilkins Highway.

Estimated costs of generation for the Hallett wind farms

Bluff Range Wind Farm
Also called The Bluff Wind farm

Status	No. of Turbines	MW each	Total MW	Cap. Fac.	Completion	Lat	Long
Operating	25	2.1	52.5	32%	Late 2011	S 33.37°	E 138.80°

	Photo credit AGL (webcam); Camera 02, 2011/04/30 First turbine completed
	Construction. The tractor and prime-mover in the foreground are delivering the top section of the No. 4 tower to its site, 2011/05/25
	Southern section soon after tower completion, 2011/05/25

The early part of the construction of this wind farm started around mid August 2010. It will have 25 Suzlon S-88 V3 2.1 MW turbines. (The S-88 is an abbreviation: the S is for Suzlon, the 88 indicates an 88m diameter.) A spokesman for AGL said that the project will create more than 120 jobs during the construction phase.

Suzlon released a newsletter 2011/06/22. The last of the S88 turbines was almost in position and the overhead lines were competed. It was expected that the wind farm would be handed over to AGL some time in December. Cleanup and remediation, including grading disturbed areas, reseeding, and final drainage modifications were underway.

A prototype S97 turbine has been included in the project. Tim Knill – AGL, Manager Power Development – informed me (2011/06/31) that it was expected that the S97 "will produce about 15% more energy due to [its] larger rotor".

One of two types of concrete bases or turbine footings are commonly used for wind turbines. Gravity footings rely on a large and heavy mass of concrete to hold the turbine in place, while, if suitable bedrock is present a smaller mass of concrete can be bolted to the bedrock using rock anchors. Rock anchors were used on this project.

At least one prototype Suzlon S97 (97m diameter rotor) turbine is to be constructed at the far south end of the ridge. This turbine is expected to generate slightly more electricity at low wind speeds than the S88.

AGL have set up 2 web cams on site and hope to make the images available to the public. I saw on the webcam that the first turbine was completed by 2011/04/30 (photo on right).

Community funding

Generation record Up to the end of 2011

Generation record for Bluff Range

Brown Hill Range Wind Farm

The capacity factor above was calculated from AEMO data (July 2009 to December 2011 inclusive) and is among the best I have calculated for Australian wind farms.

The first Hallett turbine; from Bundaleer forest

This wind farm is about 15 km East of Hallett (map) and consists of 45 turbines each of 2.1 MW, it was officially commissioned on June 13th 2008, although was largely operational several months earlier. I believe that it is owned by a superannuation company and its power is being bought by AGL.

A company named Wind Prospect first proposed the farm and did initial work on assessing the wind resource and planning a possible layout.

The turbines are Suzlon S-88 2.1 MW machines and the farm was constructed by Suzlon. The Suzlon parent company is based in Pune, India.

For an interactive map and/or directions to Brown Hill Range go to ExplorOz.

The cost of generating power at this wind farm are calculated on my Wind Power page.

Bendan Ryan (of Suzlon) informed me that they used Brett Lane and Associates of Melbourne for bird and bat monitoring. Lane et al apparently wrote the wind industry's 'best practice' recommendations for bird and bat monitoring.

I must express my thanks to Peter Reed and Brendan Ryan of Suzlon for their help in keeping me informed and showing me around this wind farm.

Air navigation lights

Generation record Up to the end of 2011

Generation record for Brown Hill Range

Community funding

Hallett Hill Wind Farm

Some of the Hallett Hill turbines with one of the few remnant sheoak (Allocasuarina stricta) trees in the foreground

The capacity factor above was calculated from AEMO data (July 2009 to December 2011 inclusive) and is among the best I have calculated for Australian wind farms.

Working on the works depot for Hallett Hill Wind Farm 2008/08/25 Several turbines completed Photogaphed from Clare, 40 km away 2009/04/01

A copy of AGL's location map is above; for an interactive map and/or directions to Hallett Hill go to ExplorOz.

Hallett Hill Wind Farm is about 15 km South of Hallett and a very few kilometres west of the township of Mount Bryan. It is the only farm of the Hallett group owned by ANZ (through fully-owned subsidiaries Energy Infrastructure Trust and Infrastructure Capital Group Ltd).

ABC on-line news, 2008/08/29, reported that:

"Energy company AGL has sold its wind farm near Burra in the mid-north of South Australia in a deal it says is worth $59 million. Energy Infrastructure Trust will own the Hallett Hill Wind Farm and fund the rest of the project's construction. But AGL will operate and maintain the wind farm and buy all the electricity produced."

The wind farm was constructed by Suzlon using Suzlon S-88 V3 turbines. I believe the tube sections of the towers were manufactured in Adelaide.

Turbine shut-down

"AGL Energy (AGL), operator of the Hallett Hill wind farm (Hallett 2) in mid-north South Australia near the township of Mt Bryan, has taken a range of steps to deal with a noise complaint at Hallett 2. During commissioning of Hallett 2, which consists of 34 x 2.1 MW wind turbines, extensive noise testing and monitoring was carried out by specialist noise consultants to determine compliance with noise guidelines. When a resident neighbouring the wind farm raised concerns about noise, AGL engaged a specialist noise consultant to assess noise conditions at the residence. During the second round of noise testing at the residence, preliminary results showed that some audible tones were detected under certain conditions. Upon becoming aware of the tonality issue in December 2010, AGL promptly shut down a number of wind turbines in proximity to the residence. Sixteen (16) of the 34 turbines are currently shut down at night. AGL has been working with the turbine supplier to rectify the defect and co-ordinate testing with the neighbouring resident. The supplier has developed a permanent acoustic treatment to address the tonality issue."

"The sixteen wind turbines were shutdown in late October and progressively returned to full operation after the permanent acoustic treatment was installed at each turbine."

Generation record Up to the end of 2011

Generation record for Hallett Hill

Note that the generation is well down in the last three months of 2011; this could be due to closing down the 16 turbines over-night. The calculated capacity factor up to the end of Sept. 2011 was 40.5%, while that for the last quarter of 2011 was down to 33.0%. However, Brown Hill Range shows a similar decling in generation in the last quarter of 2011, so I'd say the situation is unclear. The lack of clear and detailed information from AGL does not help at all.

Air navigation lights

Community funding

The wind farm area; Hallett is on the left. (Google Earth) The wind turbines are to be built on the ridge-tops on the right two-thirds of the image.

Mount Bryan Wind Farm is to be built near Mount Bryan (the hill, not the township), about 5 km East of Hallett, and about 12 km NNE of Mount Bryan township (map).

There has been some concern over a remnant stand of Eucalyptus trees (Eucalyptus globulus bicostata) in this area (April 2008). It seems that this particular stand of trees could be up to 4000 years old. Sandra Kanck (then South Australian Democrat MLC) said that the stand of trees is only 20m from one of the proposed turbines. (I believe the site of this turbine has been moved because of these trees.) While this stand of E. globulus bicostata may be the only one known in South Australia, the species is common in the Otway Ranges in Victoria.

	A general view of the Mount Bryan area The brownish area on the distant hill-side is soil bared by overgrazing
	From the Heysen Trail, Mount Bryan Soil bared by overgrazing is conspicuous in the lower half of this photo.

Wind home Top SA wind farms Index

Several people who are opposed to wind farms in the Hallett area have claimed that there will be much damage to native vegetation if the Mount Bryan Wind Farm is built; both the aerial view and two photos on the right show that there is practically no scrub right on the ridge-tops. The area has been subject to sheep grazing for well over a hundred years and the native vegetation is greatly degraded; as shown particularly in the lower photo on the right.

An email from Tim Knill of AGL Energy (12th March 2010) included the following on ecology: "there are some patches of native grass/shrubs but very few trees on the ridge tops. Any unavoidable clearance of native vegetation will require conservation set-aside areas to be established. We expect that all trees will be protected."

The Heysen Trail passes over Mount Bryan and on to Hallett (through the broader valley in the lower right of the aerial view). I walked this section of the Trail on 30th August 2010. The view on the upper right is fairly typical of the Mount Bryan range. There are more large gums in some of the lower areas, there are more shrubs on some of the hill-sides, there is more conspicuous damage from over-grazing in some areas (lower photo). I am informed by a reliable source (Millie Nicholls) that the shrubs, which are very common in the area, are Melicytus dentata, common name tree violet. These all appeared to be very heavily grazed. (I have other images of the Mount Bryan area if anyone needs them.)

Once built the wind farm will make this section of the Heysen Trail much more popular because it will present an oportunity for people to walk a dedicated walking trail close to, and among, a group of modern wind turbines. I cannot think of any comparable oportunity elsewhere. Providing this first hand experience – seeing and hearing wind turbines at close range – to many people must help educate the public on the facts of wind turbine sound levels and visual impact.

At various points along this section of the Heysen Trail there are views of the Hallett Hill Wind Farm, some seven kilometres to the SW, and the more distant Brown Hill Range wind farms to the NW.

Mount Bryan wind farm is expected to be one of the most productive (in proportion to its size) in Australia.

North Brown Hill Wind Farm

Summary data for North Brown Hill Wind Farm Status No. of turbines MW each Total MW Capacity factor Completion Lat Long Operating 63 2.1 132.3 40% Early 2011 S 33.19° E 138.75° The capacity factor is calculated from AEMO data for January 2011 to December 2011 inclusive. Note that fine tuning was happening during this period. This wind farm is about 23 km from Hallett (map) and immediately north of the Brown Hill Range Wind Farm (Hallett #1). Wind Prospect has quite a detailed Net page about the project and you may find information about the project on AGL's site. First power into the grid was 2010/08/14. As of 2010/10/20 all turbines have been fully erected, one section has been handed over to AGL and other sections were going through reliability testing and commissioning. Power fed into the national grid was still increasing, but the best so far was more than 70 MW.   Further data on North Brown Hill Development cost $5.4m Construction cost $333.5m Turbine type Suzlon S-88 V3 2.1 MW Long term average wind speed 8.5M/sec. The information on this table was from AGL's Net site. EcoGeneration, 2009/10/12 ran a news article stating that AGL had sold North Brown Hill (Hallett #4) to the Energy Infrastructure Investments consortium. North Brown Hill will be one of the the biggest wind farm in SA and in Australia. Ward Civil won the contract for the footings of North Brown Hill and, I believe, made rock anchor bases that are smaller than previously used in the area. I believe they took around 50 cubic metres of concrete each and are 1.4m deep rather than the 2.3m deep bases Built Environs designed ones for earlier Hallett wind farms. AGL sold this wind farm to the Energy Infrastructure Investments consortium about October 2009.

	Early generation Generation ramping up at North Brown Hill, data to 2010/11/16
	Generation record Generation record for North Brown Hill Wind Farm Up to the end of 2011

Generation record for North Brown Hill

Community funding

Willogoleche Hill wind farm

Alternatively called Willogoleche Power Wind Farm

The wind farm will not have aviation lighting. Pacific Hydro say that "the site boundary is approximately three kilometres east of Keyneton and that it will connect to the grid via a transmission line that crosses the site.

It is expected that the turbines will be at least 1.5 km from the nearest homes. Pacific Hydro have run at least two public information sessions. I've read that they hope to submit a Development Application by the end of this year (2011).

I have independent information that there isn't much remnant vegetation that will be affected. The area has been grazed for 150 years and there isn't much left. The same source informed me that Pacific Hydro have done 'a particularly good job of consulting the community'.

Community funding

Lake Bonney wind farms

In the Southeast of South Australia near Millicent, this group of wind farms follows a line of stabilised sand dunes parallel to the coast, in a NW-SE direction. The owner was Babcock and Brown Wind Partners, more recently N.P. Power and Infigen Energy. Obtaining information on these wind farms is particularly difficult.

As of February 2012 the Lake Bonney wind farms, combined, have the second highest installed capacity of any wind farms in Australia (after the Hallett group), however, because of the poor capacity factors achieved, both the Hallett (SA) and Waubra (Vic.) wind farms generate more electricity. All three stages connect to the transmission grid via the 132kV Mayurra substation.

Lake Bonney Stage 1 wind farm

Status	No. of turbines	MW each	Total MW	Completed	Capacity factor	Lat	Long
Operating	46	1.75	80.5	March 2005	25%	S 37.71°	E 140.38°

The capacity factor above was calculated from AEMO data (March 2009 to December 2011 inclusive) and downloaded via the ALG Net site.

Wind turbines of Canunda/Lake Bonney

Wind home Top SA wind farms Index Lake Bonney photos, notes on visiting. In the Australian Electricity Generation Report of 2008, available from Australian Policy Online, this wind farm is listed as the nineth largest renewable energy power station in mainland eastern Australia, and the fourth largest wind farm, by generation for 2008, generating 204 MWh.

Generation record Up to the end of 2011 Generation record for Lake Bonney Stage 1 The graph on the right shows the power generation record for Lake Bonney Stage 1 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. Community funding An inquirey was sent to Infigen Energy 2010/09/19.

Lake Bonney Stage 2 wind farm

Status	No. of turbines	MW each	Total MW	Completed	Capacity factor	Lat	Long
Operating	53	3	159	September 2008	24%	S 37.81°	E 140.41°

This wind farm commenced full commercial operation in September 2008. In the Australian Electricity Generation Report of 2008, available from Australian Policy Online, this wind farm is listed as the third largest renewable energy power station in mainland eastern Australia, and the largest wind farm, by generation for 2008, generating 373 MWh.

Generation record Up to the end of 2011 Generation record for Lake Bonney Stage 2 The graph on the right shows the power generation record for Lake Bonney Stage 2 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.

Shortly after it being reported that construction would start in early 2010 the South Australian Government announced that it has refused to vary major development approval of the wind farm (Trust Power wanted to build taller towers, 110m high). Subsequently Trust Power stated they would drop the project. This all happened in late August, early September 2009.

In January 2011 SA Planning Minister Paul Holloway said that it is no longer appropriate to grant further extension of the development approval.

Annular generator

"The annular generator is of primary importance in the gearless system design of ENERCON wind turbines. Combined with the rotor hub it provides an almost frictionless flow of energy, while the gentle running of fewer moving components guarantees minimal material wear. Unlike conventional asynchronous generators, the ENERCON annular generator is subjected to minimal mechanical wear, which makes it ideal for particularly heavy demands and a long service life.

The ENERCON annular generator is a low-speed synchronous generator with no direct grid coupling. The output voltage and frequency vary with the speed and are converted for output to the grid by a DC link and inverter. This achieves a high degree of speed variability."

The agreement by Macquarie Capital Group Ltd. to take "responsibility for all of the ongoing development activities for the proposed wind farm" (Border Watch, 2009/12/22) is very significant because it indicates that financial backing has been obtained; always a hugely important mile-stone for any wind farm development.

The wind farm is to be built on the Woakwine Range between Beachport and Mount Benson. Beachport is 78 km NW of Mount Gambier, Mount Benson is about 60 km NNW of Beachport.

I suspect that substantial upgrading of the power transmission system will be needed before the project can proceed.

A company named Wind Prospect originally planned up to 105 wind turbines each of 2 MW. There are 47 turbines in the Snowtown Wind Farm, more are planned for Snowtown Stage 2.

Full URL for Snowtown Stage 2, "http://www.trustpower.co.nz/index.php?section=162" There are 48 turbines at Snowtown Stage 1 (August 2011). Trust Power's Net site (2011/08/11) speaks of "the remainder of the 130 approved turbines, with a proposal to add another 19 turbines". This suggests that up to another 101 turbines might be built.

I received the following from Trust Power on 2011/01/23: "Graeme Purches (our Community Relations Manager) ... advises that we have all planning approvals and landowner agreements and are preparing financial justification for Board consideration. We hope to be able to proceed [with construction] this year."

I emailed TrustPower (2008/07/30) requesting information on any proposed expansion of the Snowtown Wind Farm and received a reply from Clayton Delmarter. He said that they received approval for 130 turbines back in 2004, and I quote him...

"So we can still install 83 turbines under the original approval – we are looking at various layout options, but essentially if you assume the same turbine type (nothing confirmed at this stage) there is around 174 MW of capacity left to build out.

We don't know at this stage if we will build this in one hit or have another couple of stages, depends how the numbers stack up – so at this stage we haven't settled on the final turbine type or the construction start date for any expansion but we are working on it!"

For email to Trust Power try clayton.delmarter@trustpower.co.nz or rodney.ahern@trustpower.co.nz.

Stony Gap Wind Farm

TRUenergy has lodged a Development Application (DA) with the Regional Council of Goyder seeking to obtain Development Plan Consent for their proposed Stony Gap wind farm.

Status	No. of turbines	MW each	Total MW	Construction	Lat	Long
Proposed	41	3?	120 to 135?	First half of 2013?	33.81°	138.93°

The project was started by Roaring 40s who held a community information session on this wind farm at the Burra Town hall on 2009/12/03. Since then, Roaring 40s was broken up and the Stony Gap WF project was taken over by TRUenergy, who have a Net site on the project.

Vincent North Wind Farm

also known as Sheoak Flat Wind Farm

Quoting from the Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 2008/04/15, "Currently the 132kv [power transmission] line serving Yorke Peninsula is at capacity and, until the capacity constraints are resolved and the electricity transmission infrastructure upgraded, this project and others like it are likely to remain on hold." Note that this same problem has stopped the development of Wattle Point Stage 2 wind farm. The SA Government talks big on sustainable energy, but does much less.

The above data were from Research Institute for Sustainable Energy, (RISE).

Generation record Up to the end of 2011

Generation record for Wattle Point

Air navigation lights

Community funding

Noise

Wattle Point Stage 2 Wind Farm

Alternatively known as Troubridge Point Wind Farm

This was proposed to be a 25 MW wind farm near the present Wattle Point farm. At least to October 2008 it has not been built. The hold up seems to be the lack of capacity in the transmission lines.

Following an inquiry I sent to the District Council of Yorke Peninsula I received the following by email...

Please be advised that Council have approved of a second wind farm near Wattle Point a couple of years ago, however, the development has not proceeded due to the fact that there is insufficient capacity in the transmission lines to accommodate additional power loadings.

Until such time that there is an extensive up grade to the existing transmission lines, which would cost the state government millions of dollars, the development will not occur.

I trust that this information answers you enquiry.

Regards,
ROGER S BROOKS
ACTING DIRECTOR DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNITY SERVICES
District Council of Yorke Peninsula
roger.brooks@yorke.sa.gov.au
www.yorke.sa.gov.au

So it seems yet again that a wind farm development that could happen is not going to happen because of lack of the needed government support, in this case, state government support.

Woakwine Range Wind Farm

Infigen Investor Relations sent me links to two MP3 files, on 2010/12/15, of interviews with Frank Boland, Infigen Project Manager, who was speaking about the Woakwine Wind Farm. Together with the wind farm size data and probable construction date given in the summary table below, he said that the cost of the project was expected to be greater than $800m. He said that the northern section would comprise 49 turbines and go from Cape Jaffa to Mount Benson, the largest, southern, section would go from Mount Hope to Lake Bonney (98 turbines), and there would be another six turbines near Robe. He also said that the closest turbines to houses of people without a financial connection to the wind farm would be 600 to 700m away.

Infigen seem to have little information about the project on their Net pages as of 2011/12/10.

Infigen has a pdf file on its 'Australian development pipeline' that mentions the project.

The power transmission network in the region is already strugling to handle the load from the existing wind farms; it will need substantial development before this project can be brought online.

World's End Wind Farm

Until some significant money is spent on investigation a proposed wind farm may be little more than wishful thinking and is not worth covering in more detail than that below.

Lake Bonney has been listed with Canunda because these two, independently owned and operated, wind farms are contiguous and it is not easy to see where one finishes and the other starts. Similarly the AGL wind farms in the Hallett area have been grouped together.

Wind farms in this section (Locality)
Canunda (Millicent) Cathedral Rocks (Port Lincoln) Clements Gap (Crystal Brook) Hallett wind farms (Burra/Jamestown) Lake Bonney (Millicent)	Mount Millar (Cleve/Cowell) Snowtown Starfish Hill (Cape Jervis) Waterloo (Clare) Wattle Point (Edithburgh)

All wind farm turbines in SA are on private land. While you can often get quite close to some turbines via public roads, there will be others that cannot be approached except by crossing private land.

In my experience most farmers are very reasonable and will not object if you walk onto a property a short distance from a boundary fence, leave gates as you find them, are considerate of livestock, and do not go near sheds or homesteads without asking permission. I suggest not driving onto private land without permission. Most land-owners would prefer you to ask permission before entering on their land at all, but it is very often difficult to know who owns what land and where he/she lives. If you meet anyone, politely explain what you are doing.

I would appreciate information that would allow me to improve this section, for example, further information on local accommodation options.

Visiting Canunda and Lake Bonney, wind farms, Millicent Location South and west of Millicent in the South East of South Australia Accommodation Millicent is the closest large town. It has varied accommodation including one or more hotel, motel and a good caravan park with cabins. Dogs are permitted in the caravan park. Accessibility Good, mainly unsealed, roads pass around and through the two wind farms. Photography notes This is one of the most photogenic of SA's wind farms. The many vantage points afforded by the several roads around the wind farms give lots of opportunities. The turbines are on a low ridge and there are views over the nearby Lake Bonney in places. The turbines are on private land. Most Australian farmers do not mind people walking on their land, but of course you can always be unlucky and meet one miserable one. Some of my photos are on a photo page.

Visiting Cathedral Rocks Wind Farm, Port Lincoln Location On the south coast of Eyre Peninsula, about 20 km south of Port Lincoln Accommodation Port Lincoln is one of South Australia's largest provincial cities, is a tourist destination, and has plentiful and varied accommodation, including hotels, motels, home-stays, b&bs, and camping grounds. Accessibility You cannot get closer than 10 km or so to Cathedral Rocks without crossing private land. Photography notes The lack of accessibility makes Cathedral Rocks the least photographable wind farm of all those in SA. The turbines can just be seen from the top of Winter's Hill, Port Lincoln, but you would need a good telephoto lens to get a mediocre photo.

Visiting Clements Gap Wind Farm Location On a range of hills NW of Red Hill and South of Crystal Brook, 180 km north of Adelaide on the Port Augusta road Accommodation Hotels at Red Hill and Crystal Brook, caravan park at Crystal Brook Accessibility The Princes Highway passes by about 5 km East of the turbines. An unsealed road runs North-South roughly parallel to the turbines and passes within 100m of one turbine. Several roads, one of them sealed (the Crysal Brook–Port Broughton road, go over the range between the turbines. Photography notes The best views from public roads are to be obained from the southern end of the farm.

Visiting the Hallett wind farms Location The Hallett wind farms are on several mainly north/south trending ridges about between Jamestown and Burra. Accommodation Possibly a hotel at Hallett. There is a caravan and camping park as well as hotel, a motor inn, and numerous cottages in Burra. Mount Bryan has a hotel that provides accommodation, about 20 km south of Hallett. There are hotel/motels and at least one caravan park at Jamestown, which is about 20 km north-west of the wind farm site. Accessibility Most people coming from the South will approach the wind farms via Burra. Apart from the Hallett to Jamestown road, only unsealed roads go close to the turbines. Several unsealed roads cross the ridge on which the Brown Hill Range and North Brown Hill wind farms are built. Photography notes The best views available from public roads would be from the unsealed roads that cross the ridges. Some of my photos are on a photo page.

Visiting Mount Millar Wind Farm, Cowell-Cleve Location In the hills between Cowell and Cleve on northern Eyre Peninsula Accommodation Caravan parks at Cowell, motels at Cowell and Cleve. Accessibility Sealed road part way from either Cleve or Cowell, then unsealed roads. Roughly equal distances from either of these towns (25-30 km). Photography notes Wind home Top SA wind farms Index There is only one road well placed for photographing; it runs most of the length of the wind farm and is very close to some of the turbines. The turbines are on the top of one of the highest ridges in the area, the land is mostly cleared but there is some scrub. There is a viewing area very close to the base of one turbine. Some of my photos are on a photo page.

Visiting Snowtown Wind Farm Location On the range of hills west of Lochiel and Snowtown about 130 km north of Adelaide on the Port Augusta road Accommodation Motel at Lochiel. Hotel and caravan park at Snowtown. Accessibility Snowtown is on the Princes Highway. Several unsealed roads cross the Barunga Range near the Snowtown turbines. There is no dedicated viewing area, nor are any turbines within less than a few hundred metres of a public road. Photography notes There are few good vantage points on public roads, largely because the roads cross the range through the lower altitude gaps. However, some interesting views are possible, especially given interesting weather conditions. Some of my photos are on a photo page. There is a turbine blade on display in Snowtown; worth a look.

Visiting Starfish Hill wind farm   Some of the Starfish Hill turbines with a sea mist   Starfish Hill turbines – these on Salt Creek Hill – silhouetted against Saint Vincent Gulf Location At the south-western end of Fleurieu Peninsula, between Cape Jervis and Second Valley Accommodation Caravan park at Second Valley (allows dogs), cabins at Sunset Cove Resort, holiday units at Cape Jervis. Accessibility Sealed road then unsealed roads from Cape Jervis and Second Valley. There is a viewing area very close to the base of one turbine. The turbines are on two ridges – the higher is Starfish Hill, the lower is Salt Creek Hill – overlooking Saint Vincent Gulf. The two hills are accessed from separate unsealed roads running off the main (sealed) Cape Jervis road. Photography notes There are 8 turbines on Starfish hill and 15 on Salt Creek Hill. Of the two, Starfish hill provides the better photographic opportunities from near the roads. Trees can provide a useful foreground on Salt Creek Hill. The Salt Creek turbines can be silhouetted against the sea if you photograph from Starfish Hill. Sea-mists can give a useful atmosphere. Some of my photos of Starfish Hill Wind Farm are here.

Visiting Waterloo Wind Farm Location On a north-south trending range of hills about 40 km south-east of Clare and 110 km north of Adelaide near the Broken Hill road (Highway 32). To get to Waterloo village, turn east at Manoora. Accommodation There is a big choice of accommodation in the touristy Clare Valley wine region and some of the towns near Waterloo have hotels. Accessibility Minor roads cross the range in several places. As of October 2010 I have not explored all the possibilities of photography at Waterloo. Contact Dijana Jevremov of Roaring 40s (dijana.jevremov@roaring40s.com) to arrange a visit to the wind farm. Photography notes There should be good opportunities of getting well composed photos from, or near, the roads that cross the ridge using some of the scattered remnant vegetation in the foreground.

Visiting Wattle Point wind farm Location A few kilometres south-west of Edithburgh on the southern extremity of Yorke Peninsula Accommodation Hotels and caravan parks with cabins at Edithburgh, Yorketown and Coobowie. A motel at Edithburgh. Accessibility Sealed road to Edithburgh and Yorketown, then several unsealed roads pass through the wind farm, which is on flat ground. Photography notes This is one of the most photogenic wind farms in South Australia, from public roads. The topography is flat, but various shrubs, trees and wind-pumps can provide useful foregrounds. The turbines are in straight lines, unlike any other Australian wind farm; this provides unique photo oportunities. You will probably find that you need to go a short distance onto private land for the best perspectives. In my experience most Australian farmers do not mind a photographer enering their land on foot. I have visited Wattle Point several times. The best times of day are sunrise and sunset. I would recommend to anyone standing in the middle of this wind farm while the sun rose or set; it's almost a spiritual experience. The turbines are the land-bound equivalents of the old sailing ships, graceful, quiet, impressive in their power. See also Of wind turbines and sailing ships.

Ken Jack of Stanwell (the proposers of Barn Hill Wind Farm, Red Hill – Wandearah area) kindly informed me of the wind velocities that he recorded. As some wind farm operators treat their wind velocity records as confidential, it would be unfair for me to publish the exact figure here. However, I can say that the strongest gust was well below the sort of wind that might be expected to bring down a wind turbine.

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