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Wind power in Australia

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Early morning at the 239 MW Lake Bonney Wind Farm.

[1]Wind power is a type of power using wind turbines allowing for electricity to be made and stored without the use of fossil fuels, including the green power in Australia’s energy sectors. As of October 2023, the nation has an installed wind capacity of around 9,100 megawatts (MW). It accounts for approximately 5% of the country's total primary energy supply and 35% of its renewable energy supply. Australia's geographical features, including its southern regions and the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, are particularly conducive to wind energy development. Most of Australia's wind farms are situated in coastal areas.

In December 2022, the Federal Government officially designated the Bass Strait off Gippsland as Australia's first offshore wind zone.

Wind resources

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Map of wind resources in Australia

The abundant wind resources in Australia provide for the country to grow its renewable energy sector. The southern coastline lies in the Roaring Forties. Sites have average wind speeds above 8–9 m/s at turbine hub height.[citation needed]

Australian wind farms produce an average capacity factor range of 30–35%. South Australia's large share (along with nearby Victoria) means most of Australia's wind power occurs around the same time. The correlation between South Australia and New South Wales is 0.34, while the correlation between South Australia and Tasmania is 0.10.[citation needed]

Wind farms

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See also: List of wind farms in Australia

As of September 2024, there were 90 operational wind farms in Australia, totalling 11,420 MW in capacity.[2]

The largest wind farm is Coopers Gap Wind Farm in Queensland, which began generating to the grid in June 2019, with a capacity of 453 MW.[3] As of December 2019, 50 Coopers Gap Wind Farm's turbines out of the initial 123 were operational.[4]

By generating capacity, the ten largest wind farms in Australia are:

No. Project State Capacity (MW)
1 MacIntyre Wind Farm Project (expected completion 2024) Queensland 1026
2 Coopers Gap Wind Farm Queensland 453
3 Macarthur Wind Farm Victoria 420
4 Snowtown Wind Farm South Australia 369
5 Hallett Wind Farm South Australia 351
6 Hornsdale Wind Farm South Australia 315
7 Lake Bonney Wind Farm South Australia 278
7 Sapphire Wind Farm[5] New South Wales 270
8 Ararat Wind Farm[6] Victoria 240
9 Murra Warra Wind Farm Victoria 226
10 Collgar Wind Farm Western Australia 222

Australia's first commercial wind farm, Salmon Beach Wind Farm, near Esperanza in Western Australia, operated for 15 years from 1987 but was decommissioned due to urban encroachment. It has since been replaced by Ten Mile Lagoon Wind Farm and Nine Mile Beach Wind Farm.[7]

Wind power by state

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Wattle Point wind farm near Edithburgh, South Australia

A full listing of all the wind farms in Australia can be found in the List of wind farms in Australia. Relevant state articles are:

Installed capacity by state

The following figures are based on capacity and generation as of the end of 2020.[4] Proposed figures are updated to December 2020.[8][9][10]

Note that figures may not agree with aggregate figures previously stated, due to different data sources and reporting dates contained within them.

# State /

Territory

Wind Power Capacity Proposed
Installed capacity Under construction or committed
Projects Turbines Total MW Penetration (%)[11][12] Projects Total MW
1 Victoria 31 1,004 2,610 13.3 10 1,537
2 South Australia 24 820 2,053 41.5 1 86
3 New South Wales 20 698 1,902 6.8 4 729
4 Western Australia 16 ? 638 12.9 4 746
5 Tasmania 5 194 563 14.2 0 0
6 Queensland 6 279 1025 2.2 4 826
Australia 102 2,995+ 8,891 9.9 23 3,924

In 2019, South Australia supplied 29.2% of Australia's wind power, fulfilling 41% of the state's electricity requirements. By the end of 2011, wind power generation in South Australia had reached 26%, surpassing coal-fired power for the first time. At that point, despite comprising only 7.2% of Australia's population, South Australia possessed 54% of the country's installed wind capacity.[citation needed]

Victoria also possesses a use of the system. In August 2015, the Victorian government announced financial support for new wind farms as part of an initiative to promote renewable energy within the state. This initiative aimed to expedite the construction of a modest 100 MW of new wind energy, representing a $200 million investment. The government estimated that 2400 MW worth of Victorian projects had been approved but remained unbuilt.[citation needed]

Installed capacity (nameplate) refers to the theoretical maximum capacity of the engineered design under perfect operating conditions. The accepted AEMO rating is the capacity factor rating that accounts for approximately 30 to 35 percent of the installed or nameplate capacity. [citation needed]

Economics

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Cullerin Range Wind Farm in New South Wales.
Main article: Wind power § Economics

Wind developments typically entail substantial upfront capital costs, with comparatively lower operating expenses. Nevertheless, maintenance costs can accumulate over time due to the necessity for periodic replacement of components susceptible to wear.

In contrast, conventional energy sources such as gas and coal demand significant initial capital investments and incur ongoing operating costs. Gas and coal power stations also generally have much longer operational lifespans compared to wind turbines. When adequately maintained, coal and gas plants can remain operational for up to three times longer than wind turbines.

Despite these complexities, existing data indicate that wind energy is one of the most cost-efficient renewable energy sources but approximately two times the cost of coal-generated power in 2006.[13] When the costs associated with pollution were factored in, it was competitive with coal- and gas-fired power stations even then. By 2014, wind had the lowest levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of any power source in Australia.[14]

A 2012 study by SKM on the economic benefits of wind farms in Australia[15] found that, for every 50 MW in capacity, a wind farm delivered various benefits.

Environmental impact

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Main article: Environmental impact of wind power
Waubra Wind Farm in Victoria.

Australia is the fifth highest per capita emitter of greenhouse gases with 25.8 tonne CO2-e per person annually, ranking first of the industrialised countries, and ranks sixteenth of all countries in total country emissions with 495 Mt CO2-e per annum.[16] It is one of the major exporters of coal, the burning of which releases CO2 into the atmosphere. It is also one of the countries most at risk from climate change according to the Stern report. This is partially because of the size of its agriculture sector and long coastline.

Landscape and heritage issues can be a significant issue for certain wind farms. However, these are minimal when compared with the environmental effects of coal. However, when appropriate planning procedures are followed, the heritage and landscape risks should be minimal. People may still object to wind farms, perhaps on the grounds of aesthetics, but their concerns should be weighed against the need to address the threats posed by climate change and the opinions of the broader community.[13]

Overseas experience has shown that community consultation and direct involvement of the general public in wind farm projects have helped to increase community approval.[17] Some wind farms become tourist attractions.[18]

The Garnaut Climate Change Review, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target announced by the Australian Government involve a reduction in Australian greenhouse gas emissions.[19] and wind power would deliver greenhouse gas.

Based on the 2010 figures for electricity production of 5 TWh nationally, it is estimated that wind power saved Australia 5,100,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in that year. In relative terms, that is calculated to be the equivalent of removing 1,133,000 cars from the nation's roads.[20]

Politics

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From 2001 to early 2006, the main driving force for the establishment of wind farms in Australia was the Government's Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET).[21][22] However, by mid-2006, sufficient renewable energy had been installed or was under construction to meet the small MRET target for 2010.

Mark Diesendorf has suggested that the Australian Government has tried to stop the development of wind power, the lowest-cost, new, renewable electricity source until coal-fired power stations with CO2 capture and sequestration and possibly nuclear power stations were available. However, "clean coal" technologies may not be commercially available for at least 20 years. Furthermore, to bring down the high cost of nuclear power to a level where it could compete with wind power would require a new generation of nuclear power stations that is still on the drawing board, which could take at least 15 years.[22]

In November 2007, when the Rudd (Labor) government was elected in Australia, it ratified Australia's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, promised a target of 20% renewable power by 2020 and to do more to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, several new wind power projects were proposed in anticipation of an expanded MRET.

Major wind projects

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In January 2022, construction began on the Goyder South development, which is expected to become one of Australia’s largest wind farms. Run by French firm Neoen, the project expects to be able to provide 209 MW of power generation by 2024, and a similar amount again when construction is complete.[23]

In south east Queensland, Australia’s first gigawattscale wind project is in development: the MacIntrye facility (923 MW), majority owned by Spanish energy firm Acciona, and the Karara Wind Farm (103 MW), under CleanCo.[23]

As of April 2023, some wind projects underway in Victoria is the 756 MW stage one of the Golden Plains development in Rokewood.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The Hon Chris Bowen MP (19 December 2022). "Joint media release: Unlocking the power of offshore wind in Gippsland". Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Ministers. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  2. ^ "OpenNEM Facilities: All Regions". opennem.org.au. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  3. ^ Mazengarb, Michael (27 June 2019). "First generation produced at Australia's largest wind farm". RenewEconomy. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Clean Energy Australia Report 2021" (PDF). Clean Energy Council.
  5. ^ "Sapphire – A New Future". sapphirewindfarm.com.au. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Ararat Wind Farm Powering Ahead | Premier of Victoria".
  7. ^ "Walking in the wind". Clean Energy Council. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Clean Energy Projects Australia | Clean Energy Council". www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  9. ^ "NEM Generation Information October 2021 | AEMO". www.aemo.com.au. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Wind Map of Australia 2020 | EcoGeneration" (PDF). www.ecogeneration.com.au/. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  11. ^ "OpenNEM: An Open Platform for National Electricity Market Data". opennem.org.au. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  12. ^ "WEM Data Dashboard". aemo.com.au. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  13. ^ a b The Australia Institute (2006).Wind Farms The facts and the fallacies Discussion Paper Number 91, October, ISSN 1322-5421
  14. ^ CSIRO. "Understanding the cost of Australia's energy transition". www.csiro.au. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Landmark report shows economic benefits of wind farms". www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  16. ^ World Resources Institute
  17. ^ "The world's leader in Wind Power". scandinavica.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  18. ^ Ten Mile Lagoon Wind Farm
  19. ^ "Australia tops greenhouse pollution index – Environment". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 June 2004. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  20. ^ "Technologies: Wind: Wind Energy – how it works". cleanenergycouncil.org.au. 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  21. ^ Lovegrove, Keith. Election 2004: The Government’s non policy on energy Australian Review of Public Affairs, 10 September 2004.
  22. ^ a b Diesendorf, Mark (2007). Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy, UNSW Press, p. 107.
  23. ^ a b c Thornton, Kane (April 2023). "CLEAN ENERGY AUSTRALIA REPORT 2023" (PDF). Clean Energy Council. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
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